President Trump Wants To Withhold Aid To California Until State’s Water Policies Are Changed

While Americans of all political stripes have expressed empathy for those impacted by the devastating wildfires across Los Angeles, many on the right have also pointed out that many of the deep-blue state’s policies have contributed to an environment where such massive blazes can burn unabated.

For his part, President Donald Trump said this week that the answer is not yet another federal bailout, at least not without some guarantees that California leaders will learn a lesson from this disaster.

As Breitbart reported, he expounded on that belief during an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity:

Trump answered, “I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down into their –.”

Hannity then cut in to say, “From the north to the south.”

Trump continued, “This is a political thing, I don’t know what it is, they talk about the Delta smelt, it’s a little tiny fish like this, they say it’s an endangered species. Well, how is it endangered? No wonder it’s endangered, it’s not getting any water.”

Draconian water restrictions have not only made daily life more difficult for Californians, but it also meant that firefighters didn’t have the resources necessary to bring the L.A. fires under control.

UPDATE: LA Fires

What Officials are saying about the Water is a Total Lie! What Happened is a Crime!

• they’re saying because homes were burnt down, so did the water pipes, thus the water pressure as a whole was down in the area…

“That is a complete lie!”, Shellenberger… pic.twitter.com/Lf3ViDoN8O

— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) January 14, 2025

HERO: Firefighter seen using a traffic cone to scoop water from a puddle as the Las Angeles Fire intensifies and water shortages persist.

These brave people deserve our utmost respect🙏 pic.twitter.com/P8dqjxRwLM

— Ready Breaking (@Ready_Breaking) January 8, 2025

climate change is not why there was no water in the LA fire hydrants pic.twitter.com/tyYwALOhvN

— Jon Najarian (@jonnajarian) January 14, 2025

Earlier this month, Trump took aim at Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in particular, accusing him of caring more about a species of fish than the constituents who elected him.

As Fox News reported at the time:

Trump spoke with reporters after attending meetings Wednesday on Capitol Hill and accused Newsom of not “[doing] a good job,” but noted they “worked well together” and would again when he takes office later this month.

“It’s very sad because I’ve been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come – you’d have tremendous water up there, they send it out from the Pacific – because they’re trying to protect a tiny little fish,” Trump said. “For the sake of a smelt, they have no water… It’s a mistake of the governor, and you could say, the administration.”

Newsom’s press office released a statement on social media following Trump’s remarks saying there was a reason for not using the pumps.

Here’s a relevant clip from Trump’s interview on “Hannity”:

Trump rips Newsom on LA fires: "I don't think we should give California anything until they let water flow down. You know, they talk about the Delta Smelt, it's a little tiny fish. They say it's an endangered species, well no wonder it's endangered. It's not getting any water." pic.twitter.com/yBIw2LUIyF

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) January 23, 2025