Jillian Michaels predicts California will swing to Republicans after LA wildfires

Lesbian fitness guru Jillian Michaels believes California, known as a Democrat stronghold, will swing towards the Republicans after the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, which she claims could have been prevented.

Michael, who has appeared on TV shows including The Biggest Loser, claimed much of the damage “could have been mitigated”, blaming California’s Democrat governor Gavin Newsom for his handling of the natural disaster.

According to CNN, at least 25 people have died since the flames took hold, while at least 90,000 residents remain under evacuation orders. The Eaton and Palisades fires are said to be among the most destructive in Californian history. 

“The reality is that while you’re seeing $20 million mansions flattened, there are thousands of people who are going to be financially devastated by this,” Michaels told NewsNation. “What’s deeply upsetting, is so much of this could have been mitigated.”

She added that the effect of the wildfires could turn voters away from the Democrats. “While I hate to make this an issue of red versus blue, I tend to look at this as if California was a company. It’s one of the largest economies in the world. You’ve got a bad operator, period. It doesn’t matter what party he belongs to.

“You saw that the state gained far more red voters in this previous election. I think there’s going to be a change in the next run for governor.”

The state last had a Republican governor in 2011: Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Must Watch! – How Gross Negligence and Corruption Fueled Los Angeles’ wildfire catastrophe with @AnaKasparian and @shellenberger Full Show:https://t.co/rlmdyvp1KS pic.twitter.com/MLird5kqxi

— Jillian Michaels (@JillianMichaels) January 15, 2025

Michaels, who lost her home in Malibu in a wildfire in 2018, admitted that she had voted for Donald Trump in November, despite previously labelling him a “bigot trying to rob Americans of their equal rights”.

The fire in 2018 “affected my life and changed me”, she said.

“You’re going to see that when it touches you, it changes you. And for California, that’s a good thing because it is in desperate need of reform.”

Newsom has often been praised by the queer community for his progressive policies, having stood up for drag artists, passed protections against books being banned and preventing LGBTQ+ students from being outed to their parents.

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