Trump shoots his mouth off as L.A. burns. His claims about fire hydrants don't hold water
By: DNyuz
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
SACRAMENTO — OK, I admit it. I’m biased. I hate it when an opportunistic politician capitalizes on other people’s miseries and tries to score political points.
I’m especially biased when it’s a president-elect who shoots off his mouth without regard for facts and blames a governor for fire hydrants running dry.
Not that Democrat Gavin Newsom is a perfect governor. But his California water policies had no more to do with Pacific Palisades hydrants drying up during a firestorm than did Republican Donald Trump’s turning on sprinklers at his golf course.
News reporters shouldn’t allow personal biases to seep into their stories, as Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong has reminded us . Reporters have long strived to not do so and mostly succeeded. But I’m not a reporter. I’m a columnist who analyzes and opines. And yes, I’m biased — but on issues, not politics.
It has always been my view that liberals, moderates and conservatives all have good and bad ideas. Neither party has a monopoly on truth and justice — except in relating to Trump.
I wanted to give Trump the benefit of the doubt and watch whether he really intended — as promised — to be a president for all Americans. But the guy just can’t help himself.
When Trump blamed Newsom for water hydrants going dry as Pacific Palisades burned, it wasn’t something people should dismiss as just another Trumpism.
Here was a president-elect mouthing off and showing his ignorance in a barrage of vindictiveness and insensitivity as thousands of people fled for their lives and hundreds of homes blazed into ashes.
Yes, I’m biased against anyone who’s that uncivil, especially when he disrespects facts or — worse — is a pathological liar.
So, let’s recap what Trump did.
As scores of hydrants went dry while fire crews battled flames in Pacific Palisades , the president-elect instinctively went on social media to point the finger at his left coast political adversary, the Democrat he tastelessly derides as Gov. “Newscum.”
“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water from excess rain and snow melt from the north to flow daily into many parts of California, including the parts that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump asserted.
“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt … but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid.
“I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to flow into California. He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster.”
True drivel, putting it politely.
First, what was this so-called water restoration declaration?
“There’s no such document,” responded Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s communications director. “That is pure fiction.”
Trump probably was referring to his policy differences with Newsom on water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to farmlands in the San Joaquin Valley. In his first presidency, Trump wanted to drain more fresh water from the delta for irrigation in the valley. But both Govs. Jerry Brown and Newsom took a more centrist approach, striving for a balance between farms and fish .
Second, it’s not the demise of the tiny smelt — the Republicans’ favorite target — that’s so concerning to many conservationists. It’s the rapid decline of iconic salmon that previously provided world-class recreational angling in the delta and fed a healthy commercial fishery on the coast. Salmon fishing seasons have been closed recently to save what’s left of the fish.
Third, despite Trump’s claptrap, plenty of fresh delta water is being pumped south to fill fire hydrants and the tanks of firefighting aircraft. Hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow daily down the California Aqueduct. Major Southland reservoirs are at historically high levels. Anyway, much of L.A.’s water doesn’t even come from the Delta. It flows from the Owens Valley and the Colorado River .
Fourth, the hydrants went dry simply because there were too many fires to fight, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power explained. Storage tanks went dry.
“We pushed the system to the extreme,” Janisse Quinones, DWP chief executive and chief engineer, said. “Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight.”
Yes, I’m biased against politicians who make up stuff.
But you’ve got to listen to Trump because he could follow through on what he’s bellowing about.
For example, Trump vowed during the presidential campaign to deny Newsom federal money to fight wildfires unless the governor diverted more water to farms.
That apparently wasn’t an idle threat.
Trump initially refused to approve federal wildfire aid in 2018 until a staffer pointed out that Orange County, a beneficiary, was home to many voters who supported him, Politico reported . And in 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected an aid request during several California wildfires until Republicans appealed to Trump .
So, what’s Trump going to be like when he actually becomes president again and is wielding real power, not just running off at the mouth?
Will he try to annex Greenland? Seize the Panama Canal? When a reporter asked him whether he’d commit to not using “military or economic coercion” to achieve these goals, he immediately answered: “No.”
Will he keep calling Canada our “51st state?”
Yep. I’m biased against such immature and dangerous political leaders.
The post Column: Trump shoots his mouth off as L.A. burns. His claims about fire hydrants don’t hold water appeared first on Los Angeles Times .
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'Morning Joe' Meltdown as Michael Steele Slams Joe & Mika Over Trump
Martin Holmes 4-5 minutes 1/10/2025
Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are getting fresh backlash over their controversial meeting with President-elect Donald Trump in November, this time directly from one of their own regular guests.
On Friday’s (January 10) episode of the MSNBC news program, former chairman of the Republic National Committee, Michael Steele, challenged the hosts on their argument that people should “be civil” to Trump as he prepares to return to the White House later this month.
Steele, who serves as a co-host on MSNBC’s The Weekend , tried to make his point only to be talked over by Scarborough, who clearly took issue with what his co-worker had to say.
“Joe, you had your moment; let me just finish my point,” Steele said. “I’m telling you something you seem to forget, so let me make my point. You may not like it, but I’m going to make it.”
Steele continued, “The reality of it is, I take your civility argument, you like to say 78 million people voted for Donald Trump, well 82 million people voted for Joe Biden, and he didn’t get that civility that you’re talking about from Donald Trump in those four years.”
“So now the expectation is, because he has won again and he’s got 78 million people, we all have to be civil to Donald Trump, well okay, I’m prepared to be civil,” he added before Scarborough interrupted.
“Nobody said that,” Scarborough retorted, growing increasingly flustered as his wife and co-host, Brzezinski, urged him to let Steele speak.
“You did!” Steele fired back.
Scarborough continued talking over Steele, emphasizing, “I didn’t say everybody has to stay civil.”
In November, Scarborough and Brzezinski faced backlash after they revealed they traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump following his 2024 presidential victory. Defending their decision, Brzezinski stated , “Joe and I realized it’s time to do something different and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump but also talking with him.”
On Friday’s Morning Joe , Steele added, “The reality is, no, you are using the term civil. I’m using your term, you put civility on the table… My main point is, everybody is looking at this from a one-way perspective; how we need to approach Donald Trump. How is he approaching us?”
“The man wants to lock up citizens, the man wants to turn the government against them, how are we supposed to respond to that? Are we supposed to be civil?” Steele stated.
“Do you think we don’t know that?” Scarborough replied. “Why do you feel the need to create false choices? You are twisting my words! You took me saying it’s not the end of the world that Barack Obama smiled and talked to Donald Trump, and you’re turning that into, ‘We have no idea.'”
“Then let me untwist them,” Steele countered. “Civility is a two-way street like I said at the beginning, and you attacked that.”
Steele was unable to finish his point as Scarborough once again interrupted to deny and deflect.
Viewers jumped onto social media to react to the heated debate, with one X user writing, “Good for Michael Steele…peep how condescending Scarborough got.”
“You could clearly see Steele got under Joe’s skin , because Joe’s face got red as hell, he needs to check his blood pressure meds,” said another.
“Michael Steele for speaking truth! Joe & Mika? You’re pathetic. You should be ashamed,” added another.
Another wrote, “Thanks Michael Steele. Joe Scarborough is a petulant child. Remember Joe and Mika have already been down to kiss the ring of Trump @ MaraLago.”
“Michael Steele says what we are all thinking and he doesn’t try to wrap it in a pretty package either,” one fan added.
“Michael Steele and Joe Scarborough goin at it this morning on Morning Joe. Damn good conversation. I’m with Michael Steele on this one,” said another.
You can watch the heated argument in the video above.
from the seed
Michael Steele is right, Trump does not deserve civility.
In 10 days he will be the president of the United States. He is only "civil" to people who bow and scrape before him. If Governor Newsom bows and scrapes before Trump Trump will stop calling him "Newscum". That is exactly how Trump rolls.
Trump is free to behave in any uncivilized manner he likes because to a large extent he is a cult leader. The people who go to or like Trump rallies dont want civility, and there is no reason for those who oppose Trump to hold themselves to non existent standards. Like it or not we are in a war for the soul of America, which is something many seem to have forgotten.
the largest
No worries, nothing to see here. This is just Trump rhetoric. Nobody listens to Trump anyway. Nothing bad results from Trump's rhetoric ... just STFU until Trump actually takes an action. (And then the consequences of the action will be denied and excused.)
The fundamental failure of the electorate in November results in our nation being stuck with an emboldened, vindictive, irresponsible (e.g. spewing lies during a crisis) man-child (e.g. "Newscum") as its daily face and voice.
The fundamental failure of the democrats to put forward a candidate worth voting for sure didn't help with Keeping Trump 2.0 out of office. The electorate made that loud and clear to anyone that wants to listen instead of blaming the electorate.
Do you personally believe that Trump is better for this nation than Harris?
Irrelevant to my comment
does that mean yes or no?
It means what I said.
you didn't say a damn thing to me, as typing and spraying when saying are not the same, but i digress. Did you happen to watch TiGs Arizona Rusty's testification ? or were you told you couldn't ?
The predictable deflection.
Agree. Don't respond to the comment by trying to make it about the commenter. Deflection by accusing someone else of deflection
Predictable
The electorate chose Trump for PotUS; do you believe that was a good choice or a mistake?
See 5.1.7
Donald Trump was well known to be a pathological liar on the day he announced his candidacy in 2015. We let the snake into the tent. His behavior, which is visible every single day, degrades our society. And most people are just silently submitting.
Even governor newsom has called for an independent investigation into how there was no water available. It was a massive failure of one of the most basic functions of government. Newsom is still sane enough, or aware enough of the voter response to recognize that.
naturally, the super nutty left doesn’t really care about the local government performing basic functions. They see the primary role of government as taking money from one group and giving it to another. Massive failures of planing and infrastructure are apparently inevitable and they believe the proper response is to throw your hands up and borrow more Money to give to their supporters while avoiding fixing anything, or god forbid, holding one of their own accountable.
I have a question for you, is Trump a new scum bag ?
He doesnt know anything about Californias water situation beyond what he reads on twitter. He calls the governor childish bullying nicknames and blowhards about something he doesnt understand. Is that really what you expect from a president? Some people will let this garbage flourish, and some of us will refuse to bow.
Seasonal lack of rain and wildfires are facts of life of Southern California. So are the strong Santa Ana winds.
The powers that be in California were caught napping and unprepared, as usual. Fire hydrants should never run dry, but the current pack of "leaders" were more concerned with social issues than protecting the people. Now they even have temerity to blame the fires on climate change instead of the humans who start them
State to probe why Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline, empty when firestorm exploded
I read that it was offline and empty for scheduled maint. and needed repairs .
I think the "timing" to do so is going to come back and bite someone , who i have no clue , but someone is going to be picked as a scapegoat .