Trump renews threat to cut wildfire aid to California
'Get your act together,' Trump tells Gov. Gavin Newsom.
President Trump renewed his threat to cut off federal aid to California amid numerous wildfires in the state and told Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to "get your act together" on Twitter on Sunday.
"The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has done a terrible job of forest management. I told him from the first day we met that he must 'clean' his forest floors regardless of what his bosses, the environmentalists, DEMAND of him. Must also do burns and cut fire stoppers," Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
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"Every year, as the fire's [sic] rage [and] California burns, it is the same thing - and then he comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more. Get your act together Governor. You don't see close to the level of burn in other states," he wrote.
"But our teams are working well together in ... putting these massive, and many, fires out. Great firefighters! Also, open up the ridiculously closed water lanes coming down from the North. Don't pour it out into the Pacific Ocean. Should be done immediately. California desperately needs water, and you can have it now!" the president wrote.
Newsom did not hold back in his response Sunday.
"You don't believe in climate change. You are excused from this conversation," the governor wrote on Twitter.
Trump's harsh words come after Newsom on Friday threatened a possible takeover of the utility Pacific Gas & Electric unless it can emerge from bankruptcy ahead of next year's wildfire season with a plan focused on safety. PG&E is blamed for sparking deadly wildfires across the state with its outdated equipment.
In January, Trump said he ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to stop sending money to California to deal with forest fires "unless they get their act together."
This remote-camera photo posted on the Ventura County Fire Department's Twitter page shows the beginning of the Maria fire at an antenna farm atop South Mountain near Santa Paula, Calif., Thursday evening, Oct. 31, 2019. (Ventura County Fire Departme
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"Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen. Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives [and] money!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
However, BuzzFeed News reported in February that Trump never sent such a directive.
Democratic California Rep. Jackie pushed back against Trump's tweet on Sunday morning.
"It's not a self-made problem. It's a natural disaster... The president has a serious problem with California because they didn't support him," Speier told CBS News.
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Fox News' Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.