'Grinning Like a Maniac': Gavin Newsom Mocked for His 'Awkward' Smile and Dance During Interview About the Ongoing L.A. Wildfires

California Governor Gavin Newsom was ridiculed online for his awkward and bizarre "shimmy" dance during a local TV interview addressing the ongoing Los Angeles County wildfires.

The Democratic governor was smiling from ear-to-ear on Monday, January 13, while standing in front of the burned down wreckage left by the fires that have spread across the city for over a week.

Newsom did a shoulder shimmy, chuckled and gave a "toothy smile" in an attempt to calm California resident's concerns.

"I was just talking to Josh Green, the governor of — down in Hawaii. [Green] had some ideas about some land use concerns he has around speculators coming in, buying up properties and the like, so we're already working with our legal teams to move those things forward and we'll be presenting those in a matter of days, not just weeks," he said during the appearance.

Newsom's awkward news appearance was viciously mocked on social media, where several vocal critics pointed out how inappropriate his demeanor was while standing in front of someone's burned down property.

One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared a clip from the interview showcasing the governor's dance and wrote: "I wasn't really concerned about developers buying up all of the property devastated by the California wildfires until Gavin did his weird shoulder shimmy dance while talking about developers buying up all the property devastated by the California wildfires."

Another X user commented: "What the actual f--- is wrong with Governor Gavin Newsom, grinning like a maniac while talking about speculators snatching up wildfire ravaged properties."

A third person joked: "Newsom has perfected some new dance moves. It's called the lying shimmy dance. But don't worry, he always does it with a smile on his face."

Many people, including celebrities, have lost their homes in the Pacific Palisades area as wildfires continue to rage there and elsewhere in Los Angeles County, burning more than 40,000 acres, destroying over 12,300 structures and killing at least 25 people.

According to recent reports, Southern California is also braced for "extremely critical fire conditions" caused by a new period of Santa Ana winds on January 15 through the next day across parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as the battle to contain the raging blazes continues.

The causes of the fires remain unknown, but investigators are focusing on a specific scorched slope to discover the origins of the largest of the blazes, the Palisades fire.

As OK! previously reported, since the fires broke out last week, Govenor Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other local officials have faced backlash over their lack of preparation and response to the ongoing wildfire.