As devastating wildfires fanned by powerful winds ravaged Los Angeles in January 2025, a video of a street shrouded in smoke was shared in social media posts with a false claim that it was filmed in the United States' second-biggest city.

Prior to arriving in California Friday, Trump told reporters in North Carolina that the Federal Government would not provide aid to Los Angeles recovery efforts unless new voter ID laws were passed and changes were made to the state's water management system.