Trump Blasts California Officials Over Wildfire Management, Threatens To Cut Off Disaster Funding
It's unclear how serious the threat, delivered via Twitter, is, but California officials are worried. "Disasters and recovery are no time for politics. I’m already taking action to modernize and manage our forests and emergency responses," Gov. Gavin Newsom responded.
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Threatens To Cut Off Disaster Funding For California Fire Victims
President Trump injected new uncertainty into California’s wildfire recovery efforts, tweeting early Wednesday that he has ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency not to send more disaster funding to state officials “unless they get their act together, which is unlikely.” Neither the White House nor FEMA provided clarification, in response to emails and calls, about whether Trump’s threat was bluster like other tweets he has sent making false assertions while criticizing the state’s fire management, or if he has actually ordered a funding cutoff to thousands of Californians trying to rebuild after the devastating fires late last year. (Wire and Bierman, 1/9)
PolitiFact California:
Trump Repeats Overly Simplistic, False Claim On California’s Wildfires
President Trump blamed a lack of "proper Forest Management" for California’s deadly wildfires in a tweet on Tuesday, repeating his overly simplistic claim about the cause of the infernos that have ravaged the state in recent years. Eighty-six people were killed and 14,000 homes destroyed in November when the Camp Fire tore through Northern California’s Butte County, making it the most deadly and destructive fire in state history. (Nichols, 1/9)