What you need to know about Donald Trump's visit to Sacramento today

Sep. 14--Fresh off a weekend of campaigning in Nevada, President Donald Trump is scheduled to touch down in Sacramento today for a briefing on West Coast wildfires.

He's expected to meet with Gov. Gavin Newsom at McClellan Park. Trump is also hosting a round table, and at least one of the reported experts has a law enforcement background. That's Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, a Republican who has met with Trump on other trips to California.

Trump likely will be greeted by some protesters. The Democratic Party of Sacramento County on Sunday put word out that it's organizing a rally outside McClellan Park this morning.

On Friday, Trump tweeted thanks to the more than 28,000 firefighters and first responders battling the blazes. But off Twitter, Trump has done little to publicly address the western fires that have burned millions of acres in California, Oregon and Washington before his Sacramento trip.

Over the weekend, Trump's allies took swings at Newsom over fire policy following the governor's visit to Butte County. Newsom bluntly connected the deadly fire season to climate change when he spoke at a news conference on burned-out land.

"We're in the midst of a climate emergency," Newsom said. "We're experiencing what so many people predicted decades ago... I'm exhausted that we have to continue to debate this issue."

Republicans, including Rep. Doug LaMalfa, countered that the region needed help, "not a lecture."

"Getting them out of the smoke, into shelter, and extinguishing the fires is my number one priority. The President has extended his support to alleviate our suffering. Mr. Governor, what are you doing?" LaMalfa said in a press release.

Since mid-August, thousands of fires have raged across California, killing 22 and burning more than 3.3 million acres, an area nearly the size of Connecticut.

Most of the fires were sparked by lightning, perpetuated by triple-digit heatwaves and spread by wind through the state's parched forests, vulnerable and full of tinder after years of drought.

Before COVID-19, Newsom and Trump frequently attacked one another over issues ranging from homelessness to water policy. The pandemic forced the two men to work more closely together, bringing a sort of truce. They even complimented each other.

Cracks in the relationship showed last month when Newsom criticized Trump's climate policies during a video shown during the Democratic National Convention. Newsom says Trump has not shown environmental leadership needed as greenhouse gases build in the atmosphere, driving climate change that makes California's fire seasons longer and more dangerous.

Trump in turn has blamed Democrats in California for failing to clear tinder from the state's wilderness. During a 2018 visit to California in the aftermath of the deadly Camp Fire, Trump met with then governor-elect Newsom and argued that the state needed to do more "raking" of its forest floors.

But despite the public bickering, Newsom says he and Trump work well together in emergencies and that the president has never failed to send California disaster aid when asked, including for the current fire emergency.

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