President Trump once again stated an ill-informed opinion via Twitter, this time turning the tragic Camp and Woolsey fires raging through California into a political issue.
“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!” Trump tweeted on Nov. 10, “With proper Forest Management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get Smart!”
These words from the President were highly criticized by the press, officials and experts because Trump chose to take a political angle toward the tragedies instead of offering support to those affected. As of the time of the tweet, 25 people had been killed in the fires and thousands displaced. As of Nov. 19, the number had risen to 71 with over 1,000 unaccounted for.
“The President’s message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the victims of the cataclysmic fires is ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines,” Brian K. Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters, said to CNN.
The tragedy of these wildfires should not be turned into a political statement. The President should not be allowed to take a natural disaster and use it as an excuse to criticize the blue state of California. These comments from the President might make more sense if he spoke out about climate change being the cause of the recent influx of more hurricanes. Due to history, we know that these comments are not made out of concern for the people being affected by the fires. He is instead using the issue for his own and his political party’s gain.
President Trump only expresses emotion about an issue if it will further his political means. This blaming of the fires on forest management, and in turn, the government of California is an attempt to make the voters in the state turn against their predominantly Democratic government. Trump hopes to garner more attention on future Republican candidates, who could run on a platform based around forest management and a guarantee of no more disasters like the current one.
This issue is not political. This is a natural disaster and people’s lives are ending or completely changing because of it. The fact that the President would use this as a way to gain political ground in a state that as a whole, does not support his administration, is appalling and one of the many examples of Trump not caring about the American people who don’t support him.
