Los Angeles’ jetsetting mayor, who was absent when the wildfires broke out, committed during an interview three years ago to pause international travel.
In 2021, the year before she assumed the city’s highest office, Karen Bass spoke of the downside of being L.A.’s mayor: a lack of global travel. Bass was a frequent flyer in previous roles as a Democratic member of Congress and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“I went to Africa every couple of months, all the time,” Bass told The New York Times in October 2021.
“The idea of leaving that, especially the international work and the Africa work, I was like, ‘Mmm, I don’t think I want to do that.’”
However, Bass subsequently told the Times that if she was voted in as mayor, “not only would I, of course, live here, but I also would not travel internationally — the only places I would go would be D.C., Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, in relation to L.A.”
Bass broke her commitment to remain stateside during her tenure as mayor. As the wildfires began spreading across Los Angeles, Bass was returning home from a trip to Ghana, where she was visiting to attend the inauguration of the country’s new president.
Not only was Bass absent during one of the city’s biggest natural disaster emergencies, but this was far from the only international trip she had taken while in office.
Bass traveled out of the country on the taxpayer’s dime at least four additional times in recent months, including a visit to Mexico to attend President Claudie Sheinbaum’s inauguration. Bass also traveled three separate times to France to attend the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
News of Bass’ absence during the onset of the wildfires has prompted anger from many city residents. An online petition demanding her immediate resignation has already garnered over 100,000 signatures.
The owner of the LA Times, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, has publicly stated that his paper’s endorsement of Bass was a mistake.
“So, at the L.A. Times, we endorsed Karen Bass. I think, right now, upfront, that’s a mistake, and we admit that. … So, I thought it was very important early on for me to come out,” said Soon-Shiong, per the Washington Examiner.