Trump Slams California Water Mismanagement, Blames Newsom For ‘Sending Water To Pacific To Save Smelt’ Over People

Amid the ongoing wildfire in Los Angeles, President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the state’s water management policies and said it was a mistake to prioritize environmental concerns over human needs.

Trump said he condemned sending over water to the Pacific Ocean aimed at protecting the delta smelt, a small fish considered endangered in the region, while communities suffer. Trump said that California does not suffer from a true drought but rather from a misallocation of resources.

“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 sent it out to the Pacific because they’re trying to protect a tiny little fish, which is, in other areas, by the way, called the smelt. And for the sake of a smelt, they have no water. They had no water in the fire hydrants today in Los Angeles,” Trump said.

The president-elect also said that he had secured federal approval for a plan on water management, which he said Democratic California Gov. Newsom refused to enact.

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“It was a terrible thing. And we’re going to get that done. It’s going to finally be done. I got it done from the federal side and he didn’t want to sign it, but it’s not going to happen again like that,” Trump said. “There’s no reason. Can you imagine you have farmers that don’t have any water in California? They have plenty of water. They don’t have a drought. They sent it out to the Pacific, and it’s crazy. So what’s happening in California is a true tragedy.”