Destructive wildfires would not be tearing through the Los Angeles area if it weren't for the policies of Democrats, President-elect Trump said in posts Wednesday. He blamed state regulations that protect endangered species for limiting the amount of water sent to Southern California from the northern part of the state, Politico reports. Trump mostly attacked Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, saying he should have signed a declaration to pump more water through the state to head off the crisis. "I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to flow into California," one Truth Social post said. "He is the blame for this."
Newsom's office replied that the president-elect doesn't have his facts straight: "There is no such document as the water restoration declaration—that is pure fiction. The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need." Federal and state rules limit the amount of water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect the smelt—a fish Trump called "essentially worthless." Trump wanted changes to divert more water to growers in the Central Valley in his first administration, per the New York Times. Environmental groups opposed the changes over concerns about the effects on salmon, smelt, and other fish.
President Biden's administration supported a plan that would permit the flow of water but add safeguards to protect fish. After Biden received a state briefing in Santa Monica with Newsom on Wednesday, Trump attacked the president he'll replace this month, per NBC News. "No water in the fire hydrants, no money in FEMA. This is what Joe Biden is leaving me. Thanks, Joe," Trump said in an all-caps post. (More President-elect Trump stories.)
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