When Los Angeles County, California, was ravaged by devastating wildfires last month, it appeared that newly-elected United States President Donald Trump would play a vital role in the recovery and rebuilding efforts, especially with the city gearing up to host the 2028 Olympic Games. However, it seems that California has now had about enough of his involvement and his “help.”
The situation began when California Governor Gavin Newsom acknowledged Donald Trump securing the 2028 Olympics for Los Angeles and called it “an opportunity for him to shine” as the city now focused on rebuilding and preparing for the upcoming Olympics.
“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 stated 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, Trump has done more harm than good when it comes to helping California.
In recent weeks, Trump has spread misinformation and created unnecessary obstacles, even claiming during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s show that he might withhold aid from California unless the state allows water to “flow down.” He pushed the false idea that Newsom and state officials were deliberately blocking water from Northern California from reaching Los Angeles, instead diverting it into the Pacific Ocean through a supposed “valve” that does not exist.
“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 continued to falsely claim that water from the Pacific Northwest could be easily redirected to Los Angeles but was being funneled into the Pacific Ocean through a nonexistent “valve.” In reality, there’s no pipeline connecting the Pacific Northwest to California, and such an initiative has been widely deemed impractical and far too expensive.
Nevertheless, Trump has persisted in promoting this idea.
“Los Angeles has massive amounts of water available to it,” Trump insisted during a recent 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.”
To justify his false claims, Trump ordered the opening of two dams in central California, releasing approximately 2.2 billion gallons of water from reservoirs. He announced the action on social media, declaring, “The water is flowing in California,” adding that it was “heading to farmers throughout the State, and to Los Angeles.”
Yet, this action only caused more problems for the state without actually fixing anything.
Heather Cooley, director of research at the Pacific Institute, pointed out two major flaws in Trump’s decision: the water was being wasted by releasing it during a wet winter season, and it wouldn’t even reach Los Angeles. She explained that the release provided “zero benefit” to the state and instead caused harm.
“They were holding extra water in those reservoirs because of the risk that it would be a dry summer,” Cooley said, according to CNN. “This puts agriculture at risk of insufficient water during the summer months.”
“This release is extremely concerning,” Cooley added. “It’s providing zero benefit and putting California farmers at risk of water supply constraints in the coming months.”
State officials have expressed their frustration with Trump’s continuous spread of misinformation and his misguided decisions, leading high-ranking figures and state agencies to speak out.
“The military did not enter California. The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful,” the California Department of Water Resources said in a post on X.
Furthermore, the State of California released an extensive fact-check of the Trump administration’s claims, titled “Hear the experts give the real facts on California water,” which debunks several of Trump’s blatantly false statements.
“Scientists, water managers, state leaders, and experts throughout the state are calling out the federal administration’s ongoing misinformation campaign on water management in California,” the state’s website reads. “Fact: There is no spigot to magically make water appear at a wildfire, despite the administration’s false claims.”
John Buse, general counsel for the Center for Biological Diversity, expressed his disbelief at Trump’s falsehoods, saying, “It’s difficult to explain what he’s talking about because nobody knows what he’s talking about. The idea of a valve and water will just flow is preposterous.”
Miles Johnson, the Columbia Riverkeeper, dismissed Trump’s claims entirely, calling the idea of a valve cutting off water to California “completely far-fetched and detached from reality.”
“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,” California Senator Alex Padilla posted on X.
“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.”
“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 California congressman Ted Lieu added in a separate post.
In addition to all of this, California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced last month that a ballot measure asking whether California should secede from the United States and become its own country has been cleared to begin collecting signatures.
While California initially sought Trump’s help in rebuilding Los Angeles in preparation for the 2028 Olympics, it’s become abundantly clear that the state has had enough of him and his “assistance.”
