Newsom Accuses Trump of Spreading Misinformation on California’s Water Issues

California Governor Gavin Newsom has recently criticized President Donald Trump for what he describes as the spread of “misinformation” regarding water shortages during California’s wildfires, even as those events occurred nearly a year ago.

In an interview with MS NOW’s Jacob Soboroff, Newsom remarked, “It was a hurricane of bullishness—coming from Trump’s weaponized lies.” He also suggested that this misinformation was amplified by Elon Musk. The interview was made available on YouTube on Monday.

Newsom’s comments referenced an incident from January when Musk questioned firefighters during a livestream about water availability in the Palisades and Malibu areas. Musk inquired if Malibu was facing a water crisis while indicating that Palisades was running low.

Musk sought clarity, asking, “My understanding is that Malibu, along the coast, was not running out of water. The Palisades was running out of water at some point. Or is that not accurate?”

Referring to the situation at the time, an official stated, “We were running more water than the system could handle. The pressure was too high considering the amount of water firefighters used.” Musk then ended the stream shortly thereafter.

In a separate post on X, Musk mentioned feeling “exposed by firefighters” during that exchange.

During the wildfires, both Trump and Musk—along with their supporters—heavily criticized California’s management of the crisis, particularly targeting Newsom. Musk had previously claimed on X, “The risks of climate change are real, but only much slower than the alarmists claim. The main causes of massive housing losses in LA are: 1. Pointless overregulation that has prevented firebreaks from being built and brush cleared. 2. Bad governance at the state and local level that has caused water shortages.”

Trump, then president-elect, had alleged that the water shortage was primarily due to Newsom’s failure to sign a “Water Recovery Proclamation,” which he claimed would have allowed for significant water flow into drought-stricken areas. Newsom’s office responded firmly, labeling Trump’s assertions as “completely fictional.”

In reflecting on the situation, Newsom commented on the troubling state of public belief in the misinformation, saying, “For the first time in history, we have a president who will spread misinformation in the midst of these disasters, where lives are literally at stake.”

The White House has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding this matter.