President-elect Donald Trump is directly blaming California’s governor for the unprecedented wildfires that have burned some of Los Angeles’ ritziest neighborhoods.
The Republican ripped Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom as four infernos, including the Palisades Fire, raged in Los Angeles County and killed at least two people.
Trump accused Newsom of prioritizing a ‘worthless’ species of fish over allowing more water to flow to Southern California.
‘Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,’ wrote Trump on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday morning.
‘He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California.’
Trump claimed that Californians are now paying ‘the ultimate price’ for their governor’s decision during his first term in the White House.
‘I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this,’ Trump wrote.
‘On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!’
Trump appeared to be referencing a presidential moratorium he signed in February 2020 aimed at diverting water in Northern California to the southern part of the state and central farmland region.
On the day of Trump’s announcement, Newsom shot down the measure as a ‘harmful attack on our state’s critical ecosystems and environment’.
‘We will file legal action in the coming days to challenge the federal biological opinions to protect highly imperiled fish species close to extinction,’ stated Newsom at the time.
On Wednesday, Newsom’s communications director Izzy Gardon responded to Trump’s social media post by saying, ‘We’re focused on protecting lives and battling these blazes – not playing politics’.
‘There is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction,’ Gardon told Fox News. ‘The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need.’
Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, and on Wednesday canceled his trip to Washington, DC, to attend former President Jimmy Carter’s memorial service.
The Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire near Altadena and Pasadena, and the smaller Hurst Fire and Woolsey Fire have forced more than 70,000 residents to evacuate.
Newsom said he intends to lobby officials for additional federal funding before fellow Democrat President Joe Biden leaves the White House.
Critics on the Internet roasted Newsom for posting a video of himself observing fires, wearing sunglasses and with his hands in his back pockets.
‘Gavin Newsom has arrived for the photo op of him watching his state burn to the ground,’ the account Libs of TikTok wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
During his first term, Trump repeatedly criticized Newsom on his handling of wildfires across the state. In January 2019, Trump threatened to stop sending federal funds to the Golden State if it did not reform its forest management services.
Trump on Wednesday afternoon also took a shot at Biden, writing on Truth Social: ‘NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!’
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