Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom publicly reached out for help from U.S. President Donald Trump as Los Angeles works to rebuild and recover from devastating wildfires in preparation for the 2028 Olympics. While Newsom praised Trump for his role in securing the Olympics, calling it “an opportunity for him to shine,” Trump responded with threats to withhold support.
“President Donald Trump was helpful in getting the Olympics to the United States — 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 said earlier this month. Newsom emphasized that they are already organizing a Marshall Plan and reimagining LA 2.0, while ensuring everyone is included.
However, during a recent interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump suggested withholding aid: “I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down.” This statement perpetuates a false claim that California officials have prevented water from flowing from the northern state into Los Angeles.
“Look, Gavin’s got one thing he can do,” Trump remarked according to the New York Times. “He can release the water that comes from the north… they’re releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.” However, experts clarify that Southern California does not rely on Northern California for its water supply and that the devastation from recent fires was not due to any water shortage.
As highlighted by Jay Lund, a professor emeritus at UC Davis with expertise in water resources, there was ample water available to combat the fires. The issue, he noted, was strong winds making aerial firefighting impossible. “There was enough water in storage in Southern California to drown the fire-affected areas in 20 feet of water, but you couldn’t get it to those places,” he explained.
Despite this, Trump asserted that Los Angeles has abundant water available from the Pacific Northwest, controlled by a “valve” that supposedly reroutes this water to the ocean. “Los Angeles has massive amounts of water available to it… All they have to do is turn the valve,” he claimed at a news conference.
However, experts have debunked this notion, stating there is no such “valve” regulating water flow from the Pacific Northwest. Past discussions about constructing pipelines to transport water have been dismissed due to the high costs involved in moving water over vast distances and steep mountain ranges. John Buse, general counsel for the Center for Biological Diversity, expressed the confusion surrounding Trump’s statements, noting, “It’s difficult to explain what he’s talking about because nobody knows what he’s talking about. The idea of a valve and water will just flow is preposterous.”
Ultimately, Trump’s threats to withhold aid unless California leaders “let water flow down” are unfounded, as the state does not require additional water to fight the fires and his claims about a controlling valve are fictitious.
