By FireRescue1 Staff
During a press conference at his Los Angeles golf club on Friday, former President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding earmarked to combat California wildfires if Gov. Gavin Newsome does not change a long-standing water policy, The Hill reported.
In his remarks, the former president said if the governor, who he referred to several times as “Newscum,” does not rescind a policy protecting an endangered species of fish, Trump would withhold federal aid.
“And Gavin Newscum is gonna sign those papers, and if he doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires,” he said. “And if we don’t give him money to put out his fires, he’s got problems. He’s a lousy governor.”
The fish under protection are called smelt, and have been endangered for more than a decade, according to The Hill, and their extinction would impact Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem.
Currently, because of the fish’s endangered status, the amount of water that can be pumped from the water source is restricted due to state and federal regulations. During his press conference, Trump said he would give California “more water than almost anybody has.”
“So, California, vote for Trump, and you’re going to have water and you’re going to have growth and you’re going to have prosperity and all those people that are leaving are going to really come back,” he said.
