Old Trump Statements Revisited
Wildfires raging through Los Angeles sound like something out of a dystopian novel, but for residents of the region, it’s an all-too-familiar nightmare.
This week’s crisis escalated to apocalyptic proportions, with multiple wildfires blazing out of control and firefighters running out of water. The situation has left many asking how we got here and why, once again, it feels like leaders are failing to manage the crisis.
Adding insult to injury, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is notably absent. While her city grapples with a literal firestorm, she’s halfway across the world in Ghana on a taxpayer-funded trip. The stated purpose? Attending a presidential inauguration. The optics alone are baffling. Why a U.S. mayor needs to travel thousands of miles for a ceremonial event—and on her constituents’ dime—is a question residents would undoubtedly like answered.
The “experts” were left “head-scratching”after Trump suggested to clean up brush and build more infrastructure to store water.
They were perplexed by the most obvious solution imaginable.
Amazing. pic.twitter.com/QBbXATv0Ja
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) January 8, 2025
But leadership failures stretch well beyond L.A.’s city limits. Former President Donald Trump’s proposals to address wildfire management—like retaining more water and improving forest floor maintenance—were mocked relentlessly during his administration. Experts and media pundits derided his suggestions as simplistic or uninformed, despite their grounding in practical forest management practices. Ironically, those same policies might have mitigated the devastation now unfolding.
California does deserve some credit for its strides in wildfire prevention. The state’s 2024 budget increased funding for forest management, and it boasts the largest aerial firefighting force in the world. But glaring issues remain. Chief among them is water management, a perennial Achilles' heel. Despite a history of droughts and wildfires, California hasn’t built a new reservoir since 1979. That oversight forces millions of gallons of rainwater into the ocean instead of preserving it for emergencies like this.
California has been throttling or shutting off water to Southern California for decades in a vain attempt to save a three-inch long minnow-like fish.
Trump tried to change that and was vehemently opposed. It’s time for California voters to hold their leaders accountable. pic.twitter.com/jlU10MqBlw
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) January 8, 2025
The federal government isn’t blameless either. Last year, President Biden’s Forestry Service halted all controlled burns, prioritizing optics over proactive risk reduction. The result? Forests packed with dry, overgrown vegetation—perfect tinder for wildfires.
And let’s not forget California’s obsession with protecting a three-inch fish, the Delta smelt. For decades, water policies have prioritized environmental concerns over human safety, often at the expense of wildfire mitigation efforts. When Trump sought to redirect water toward reservoirs, environmental groups and the state fought him tooth and nail, succeeding in blocking his plans.