As Los Angeles prepares to rebuild after the devastating wildfires in anticipation of the 2028 Olympic games, Donald Trump appears to be creating more challenges than solutions. Following the fires, California Gov. Gavin Newsom reached out to Trump for assistance in the reconstruction while expressing gratitude for his role in bringing the Olympics to Los Angeles. “President Donald Trump was helpful in getting the Olympics to the United States of America — to get it down here in LA. We thank him for that. This is an opportunity for him to shine, for this country to shine, for California and this community to shine,” Newsom remarked last month.
Newsom further elaborated, “That’s why we’re already organizing a Marshall plan. We already have a team looking, reimagining LA 2.0, and we’re making sure everyone’s included.” However, Trump has complicated matters by perpetuating misinformation regarding the state’s water situation. In recent weeks, he has made erroneous claims, even stating during an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News that he might withhold aid from California unless the state allowed water to “flow down.”
This assertion echoed false claims that Gov. Newsom and state officials were deliberately diverting water from Northern California to the Pacific Ocean through a non-existent “valve.” “Look, Gavin’s got one thing he can do,” Trump stated, according to The New York Times. “He can release the water that comes from the north. There is massive amounts of water, rainwater and mountain water, that comes, too, with the snow, comes down as it melts, there’s so much water, they’re releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.”
He insisted that water from the Pacific Northwest was plentiful for Los Angeles but was being misallocated. Trump claimed, “All they have to do is turn the valve, and that’s the valve coming back from and down from the Pacific Northwest, where millions of gallons of water a week, in many cases, pours into California, goes all through California down to Los Angeles. And they turned it off.” He later declared he had used “emergency powers” and the “United States Military” to “turn the water on” from the Pacific Northwest, asserting, “The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument over the PEOPLE are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!” This post was made on Truth Social.
However, Trump’s actions seemed to cause more trouble than relief, prompting a swift backlash from California Senator Alex Padilla. Following Trump’s claims of “turning on the water,” Padilla criticized the president for recklessly ordering two dams to open at full capacity, a decision that would not aid Los Angeles and could instead threaten Central Valley communities and farms. “Trump just ordered two dams open to levels that would have flooded Central Valley communities and farms – all to justify his lies about the LA fires,” Padilla remarked on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter. He added, “These rivers don’t even flow to Los Angeles. The incompetence isn’t just staggering, it’s dangerous. And I’m demanding answers.” Trump has yet to publicly respond to Padilla’s statements, but it is apparent that the senator’s criticism reflects a broader discontent with the president’s approach.
