Staff Reports
President-elect Donald Trump recently took to Truth Social, where he laid the blame for California’s raging wildfires squarely on the shoulders of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. In a post that rekindled memories of Newsom’s checkered history, Trump pointed out that the governor had previously neglected a critical water restoration declaration. This declaration could have transported millions of gallons of rain and snowmelt water to areas battling the flames. Instead, the refusal to act seems to have left those regions perilously dry, a fitting metaphor for Newsom’s leadership in the Golden State.
In a more succinct follow-up post later in the day, Trump fired off a blistering message all in caps, emphasizing the dire state of emergency. His proclamation lamented the absence of water in fire hydrants and a lack of funds from FEMA, delivering a comedic yet serious jab at what Joe Biden is leaving for him to inherit. This might be old news for some, but for anyone giggling at the idea that water hydrants can run dry—well, one would think being the governor of California would come with a backup plan involving water management!
Roberts: Trump back in 2020 was very critical of California for not making sure the forest floors were clean to stop the fires from spreading so rapidly. Why does this keep happening?
Fox Reporter: This fire started in a residential area. pic.twitter.com/3ok2hkuIYo
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 8, 2025
Amid the tangled web of federal disaster responses, Trump’s concerns regarding FEMA funding are particularly relevant. The beleaguered agency is coming off a rocky performance following the hurricanes that swept through North Carolina, which highlights the broader incompetence of the current administration. Even as FEMA Director Deanne Criswell tried to reassure users on social media about the agency’s plans to support firefighting efforts, many Californians remember vividly the lack of federal assistance, especially when it came to aiding areas that just so happened to sport pro-Trump signage.
The tragic irony here is that while Newsom and Criswell were busy praising each other’s efforts on social media, they failed to acknowledge the critical problem: FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund was recently drained by the twin one-two punch of hurricanes Milton and Helene. A last-minute infusion from Congress barely patched the holes in the budget, but it all raises significant concerns about whether FEMA could handle another high-stakes disaster. Who knew congressional appropriations could be such a nail-biting cliffhanger?
As Trump prepares to step back into the Oval Office, the realization that he’s inheriting a basket of issues from Joe Biden is undeniable. If the president’s lack of decisiveness and fading mental faculties weren’t enough to negate any goodwill he had with Americans, the mishandling of disasters like this one will be the final nail in the coffin. Even as Newsom takes to social media to thank Biden for his supposed assistance, it’s increasingly clear that the state of California—and its wildfires—might just be the true litmus test for the resilience of Democrat-led emergency management. If they can’t handle the heat now, how can they be trusted to do so in the future?
