Trump's Answer to Calif. Fires: I May Yank Federal Funds

President blames state's 'gross mismanagement' of forests for wildfires
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 10, 2018 7:30 AM CST
Trump Blames Calif. for Fires, Threatens to Yank Funding
In this Nov. 7, 2018, photo, President Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

As the wildfires ravaging California continue to wreak havoc, President Trump has weighed in from across the world—and he's blaming California, per Reuters. In an early Saturday post from Paris, where he's attending events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, Trump tweeted: "There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!"

HuffPost's observation: "He offered no condolences to those killed in the blazes and did not further explain exactly how he believed the forests were being mismanaged." The site notes that nearly 250,000 people have been forced to evacuate; CNN reports at least nine people have died so far across the state, some in or near homes and others in their cars. ABC News notes that in August, Trump made similar claims blasting California, accusing the state of diverting water to fight fires into the Pacific Ocean; fire officials says his claims were wrong. (An entire community was "wiped out" by what's now being called the "most destructive fire in California history.")

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