The president of California's Professional Firefighters union said this weekend that former President Trump should be “ashamed” for threatening to withhold federal firefighting aid from the state if elected.
Brian K. Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters Union, which represents more than 35,000 firefighters. It said in a statement “It's shocking that we have a presidential candidate who threatens our public safety,” he said Saturday evening.
“His rhetoric is dangerous, his ideas about public safety are dangerous and his ignorant rhetoric has grown exponentially,” Rice said.
President Trump, speaking at a news conference at his Rancho Palos Verdes Golf Club on Friday, said that in a second term, he would stop sending federal fire aid to California unless Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom he has repeatedly called “Newscom,” follows through on his policy priorities on issues like water and taxes.
The former president's threat came amid a debate over California's water and land management policies, water allocations to farmers, and protection of the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish that won't live anyway.
“With this group, it's all over,” Trump said of California's Democratic politicians.
“The auto industry is going to die, the water is going to stop coming here, and Gavin Newscomb is going to sign that paper. And if he doesn't sign that paper, we're not going to give him the money to fight the fires. If we don't give him the money to fight the fires, he's going to have problems. He's a terrible governor.”
Trump did not specify which document he was referring to.
Newsom responded with X that Trump was revealing his true identity.
“Every voter should be aware of this. @realDonaldTrump has allowed himself to block emergency disaster funds to settle political vendettas,” Newsom wrote. “Today it's wildfires in California. Tomorrow it could be hurricane funds in North Carolina or flood assistance for homeowners in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump doesn't care about America. He only cares about himself.”
Rice compared the comments to those made by Trump during a 2018 visit to fire-ravaged Paradise, where, standing among the ruins, he said, “We've got to take care of the floor, you know? The forest floor.”
He then cited Finland, saying, “They're focusing on sweeping and cleaning. They don't have any problems.”
President Trump on Friday compared California's forests to those of Austria, saying trees there don't burn because they're so well managed.
“There's no place like California, so the forests are very vulnerable,” he said. “When I go to Austria, the Austrian managers tell me, 'Our trees are more flammable than those in California. We've never had a forest fire,' because they maintain their forests.”
Austrian officials have previously denied Trump's claims about the country's forests, saying:More explosive“Trees.
“Let me be clear: there are no exploding trees in Austria!” said Elisabeth Köstinger, the Minister of Agriculture at the time. I wrote in the article It was published in the London-based newspaper The Independent in 2020.
“We understand that many people will find Donald Trump's comments about Austria's forests amusing,” Köstinger wrote. “For us, it is an opportunity to highlight the beauty of our forests and the country as a whole, while revealing the truth behind his controversial comments.”
“As of today, thousands of firefighters are on the front lines responding to wildfires across the state, and countless Californians are following evacuation orders and putting themselves at risk,” Rice said in a statement. “But former President Trump has made it clear he is willing to sacrifice people's lives and homes if he doesn't get his way, and if re-elected, he would rather watch our state burn in the name of political tactics than send aid.”
He said the former president's threats were a “serious public safety issue.”
“It is a disgrace to our great state and all Californians that this man is in a position to threaten our lives, our safety, our families and our state,” he wrote.
