As Los Angeles works to recover from the devastating wildfires and prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games, Donald Trump appears to be creating more obstacles than solutions.
In the wake of the fires, California Governor Gavin Newsom urged Trump to assist in the rebuilding efforts, while also acknowledging his role in securing the 2028 Olympics for Los Angeles.
“President Donald Trump was helpful in getting the Olympics to the United States of America — 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 last month.
“That’s why we’re already organizing a Marshall plan. We already have a team looking, reimagining LA 2.0, and we’re making sure everyone’s included.”
However, instead of lending support, Trump has made the situation more difficult by spreading misinformation about California’s water supply.
In recent weeks, he has continued to push false and misleading claims, even telling Sean Hannity on Fox News that he might withhold aid from California unless the state agrees to “let water flow down.”
This statement echoed baseless claims that Newsom and state officials were intentionally preventing water from Northern California from reaching Los Angeles and instead dumping it into the Pacific Ocean using a so-called “valve.”
“Look, Gavin’s got one thing he can do,” Trump said, according to The New York Times. “He can release the water that comes from the north. There is massive amounts of water, rainwater and mountain water, that comes, too, with the snow, comes down as it melts, there’s so much water, they’re releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.”
Trump went on to insist that water from the Pacific Northwest was readily available to Los Angeles but was instead being diverted into the Pacific Ocean through a non-existent “valve.” In reality, there is no pipeline delivering water from the Pacific Northwest to California, as such a project has long been deemed unrealistic and prohibitively expensive.
Yet, that hasn’t stopped Trump from doubling down on the claim.
“Los Angeles has massive amounts of water available to it,” Trump said during a Tuesday press conference. “All they have to do is turn the valve, and that’s the valve coming back from and down from the Pacific Northwest, where millions of gallons of water a week and a day, even, in many cases, pours into California, goes all through California down to Los Angeles. And they turned it off.”
Following these remarks, Trump went even further, claiming that he had personally intervened using the “United States Military” and “emergency powers” to restore water from the Pacific Northwest.
“The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
But instead of fixing anything, Trump’s move appeared to do more harm than good, prompting a swift response from one prominent Democrat.
After Trump claimed he had “turned on the water,” California Senator Alex Padilla blasted the president for recklessly ordering two dams to be opened at full capacity—an action that wouldn’t even benefit Los Angeles.
“Trump just ordered two dams open to levels that would have flooded Central Valley communities and farms – all to justify his lies about the LA fires,” Padilla posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“These rivers don’t even flow to Los Angeles,” Padilla continued. “The incompetence isn’t just staggering, it’s dangerous. And I’m demanding answers.”
Needless to say, these comments from Padilla led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“The Trump Administration showed gross incompetence by issuing a federal freeze order and then rescinding it. The Administration is now wasting water that CA farmers need in the summer. Their incompetence is harmful, dangerous and increases food prices,” former congressman Ted Lieu wrote.
“These rivers don’t even flow to Los Angeles…” the California Democratic Party wrote.
“It seems like, instead of trying to talk Trump out of his craziest ideas or slow-walking them, his aides are just implementing them immediately?” Jonathan Chait of The Atlantic wrote in a post.
“This is how stupid Trump and his people are. They completely wasted water with this water release he ordered, and probably caused flooding. This is nothing but a waste of water. It has nothing to do with fire hydrants in Southern California. It will not reach Los Angeles,” someone else added.
“My family lives in Porterville, I live in Ventura County. This is insanity and does zero to help fight fires in LA. It makes the Central Valley flood and helps no one. Not even farmers,” another person added.
Trump has yet to respond publicly to Padilla’s criticism, but it’s clear that his latest move has sparked outrage.
