Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass previously told the New York Times in 2021 that she did not plan to travel abroad after being elected mayor, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

Bass said in 2021 that if she won the election, “of course not only would I live here, but I wouldn’t travel out of the country — the only places I would go are Washington, D.C., Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, which is different from Los Angeles.” of Times report.

When fires raged in Los Angeles last week, the mayor was on a business trip in Ghana. After returning, Buzz ignores questions Reporters about her absence.

Bass previously served in Congress, particularly on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and spent several years working on U.S. relations with Africa, the Times reported.

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On May 27, 2022, Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rep. Karen Bass gathered with many high-profile supporters at Angel Point in Elysium Park in Los Angeles, California. ((Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images))

The Times reported that “that promise has been grossly broken.”

Since becoming mayor, Bass has traveled abroad four times, once to Mexico and three times to Paris for the Olympics, the Times reported.

“Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were on fire? Madam Mayor, do you regret cutting millions of dollars from the fire department budget?” Bass waited to get off the plane after a trip to Ghana on Wednesday, Sky News reporter David Blevins asked.

“Do you really have nothing to say to citizens today?” he added.

Bass refused to greet reporters and continued to ignore reporters’ questions and looked at the ground.

“No apology to them? Do you think you should go to Ghana when this is happening at home?” he said.

“The mayor is 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 fires and is moving forward on all of the above plans,” Bass spokesman Zach Seidel said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Administrator Matt Szabo unveiled 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 In 2021, he posted on social media accusing Sen. Ted Cruz of leaving his state as Texas dealt with a winter storm.

Bass told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that she had been communicating with people on her flight back to Los Angeles.

“I was on the phone almost every hour on the plane,” she said. “So even though I’m not here physically, I’ve been in touch with a lot of people who are standing here. When my flight landed, I immediately went to the fire zone and saw what was happening in Pacific Palisades.”

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Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.