Bass was criticized for being in Ghana as the wildfires devastated Los Angeles
WATCH LIVE: LA's embattled Dem mayor faces raging wildfires and a rising death toll
As millions of people in Southern California brace for the return of dangerous Santa Ana winds, officials aren't wasting any time to prepare for a potential situation that could exacerbate what has already been described as apocalyptic.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass previously told The New York Times in 2021 that she didn't plan to travel internationally when elected mayor of the city, as reported by the outlet on Sunday.
Bass said in 2021 that should she win her election, "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," the Times reported.
The mayor was traveling in Ghana as the fires ravaged Los Angeles last week, and upon her return, Bass ignored questions from reporters about her absence.
Bass previously served in Congress, specifically on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and spent several years working on U.S. relations with Africa, according to the Times.
Rep. Karen Bass, a candidate for Los Angeles mayor, gathers with various prominent supporters at Angel's Point in Elysian Park on May 27, 2022, in Los Angeles, California. ((Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images))
The Times reported, "That pledge has been spectacularly broken."
Bass has traveled internationally four times since she became mayor, the Times reported, once to Mexico and three times to Paris for the Olympics.
"Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? And do you regret cutting the Fire Department budget by millions of dollars, Madame Mayor?" Sky News reporter David Blevins asked as Bass waited to deplane on Wednesday following her trip to Ghana.
"Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today?" he added.
Bass refused to acknowledge the reporter, continuing to ignore questions as she looked at the ground.
"No apology to them? Do you think you should have been visiting Ghana while this was unfolding back home?" he said.
"The Mayor is laser focused on two things right now – keeping Angelenos safe and protecting property. She has secured the federal, state and local resources we need to continue fighting these fires and is moving forward on an all-of-the-above plan for recovery," Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
LA Mayor Karen Bass and City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo unveil the 2024-25 fiscal budget at City Hall. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Bass was also called out for a 2021 social media post calling out Sen. Ted Cruz for being away from his state while Texas dealt with a winter storm.
Ted Cruz fleeing Texas in the middle of a deadly crisis is part of a larger pattern of the GOP abandoning folks in crisis.
— Karen Bass (@KarenBassLA) February 19, 2021
We need to build a movement to kick them all out.
Bass told reporters during a news conference on Wednesday that she was communicating with people throughout her flight back to LA.
"I was on the phone, on the plane, almost every hour of the flight," she said. "So although I was not physically here, I was in contact with many of the individuals that are standing here throughout the entire time. When my flight landed, I immediately went to the fire zone and saw what happened in Pacific Palisades."
Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.
