President Donald Trump told reporters at a press conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California on Friday that if elected, he would give the state more access to water.
When asked by a reporter what he would do to help people affected by the state's wildfires, Trump shifted the topic to California's water management policies.
“This is my favorite question of the day,” he said, launching into a lengthy monologue about states denying water to farms because of environmental policies that prioritize fish species like delta smelt.
About 20 years ago, the smelt problem disrupted state water policy with a federal court lawsuit, but the state often diverted water from dams into the ocean rather than providing it to farmers and other users to maintain water levels.
It's also true that Gov. Gavin Newsom (Democrat) has done little to build water storage — the state's last reservoir was completed nearly half a century ago — and Breitbart News reported last year that the amount of rainfall that fell in the state that winter would have supplied California's water needs for 10 years if stored.
Trump said the water restrictions are in place to protect “a little fish called smelt. We're releasing millions of gallons of water into the Pacific Ocean…Gavin Newscom is to blame for the lack of water. [sic] “I didn't want to do it. I did it all… Now all the barren fields have all the water that farmers need and we can bring water back to the hills where there are dead forests.”
It's not clear what Newsom was vetoing, but he may have been referring to a memorandum Trump signed as president in 2018 that streamlined the approval process for water infrastructure projects, leaving states missing out on opportunities to build more water infrastructure.
Trump also said he would withhold funding for California's firefighting efforts unless Newsom agreed to changes to water policy, a remark that prompted a response from Newsom on Twitter.
(Despite his frequent disputes with California, President Trump never refused to provide emergency funds to Governor Newsom in a disaster during his four years as president, although he did withhold $1 billion in federal funding for the state's high-speed rail project after Governor Newsom canceled part of the plan.)
Trump returned to the issue of water after touching on poor forest management, a frequent topic of discussion with Newsom.
Californians, vote for me. I will give you more water than most people ever get. Farmers up north will get to use 100% of their land instead of 1%. The water will flow all the way to Los Angeles. You will have more water than you've ever seen. … Vast amounts of water, millions of gallons of water, are being pushed out into the Pacific Ocean, with absolutely no impact on the Pacific Ocean. All of that water will irrigate California. I can promise you no more. We won't have to build the desalination plants that many of you want. It will be very expensive, but it's better than no water. So Californians, vote for Trump, and you will have water, you will grow, you will thrive, and the people who are leaving will come back.
Trump joked that while more water may not be needed in Rancho Palos Verdes, where heavy rains over the past two years have caused devastating mudslides in residential areas, he would find a way to bypass the peninsula.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday It airs Sundays from 7:00pm-10:00pm ET (4:00pm-7:00pm PT) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of the following books: Agenda: What President Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysavailable for pre-order on Amazon. He also Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump's presidencyavailable now on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
