While the fires were raging out of control in the Los Angeles area on Wednesdaydestroying more than 28,000 acres of land, destroying thousands of homes and buildings, including entire neighborhoods, and causing the deaths of at least five people, President-elect Donald Trump, his MAGA aides, right-wing commentators, conservative news outlets, and far – not all right-wing conspirators blamed climate change or eight months without rain, but vigilance.
Trump—who supports greatly expanding the extraction and use of fossil fuels, which scientific consensus directly linked to the growing prevalence of extreme weather events — he used the unfolding tragedy to attack his longtime nemesis, California Governor Gavin Newsom. He argued that Democratic acceptance of environmental issues is to blame for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s (LAFD) inability to contain what is already the worst wildfire in California history.
“Governor Gavin Newscum has refused to sign a water restoration declaration put before him, which would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excessive rain and snowmelt from the north, to flow daily into many parts of California, including areas that are currently burning practically apocalyptic way,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a snot by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but he didn’t care about the people of California.”
Governor’s Press Office issued a statement On Wednesday, he criticized Trump’s comment and pointed out that “there is no such document as a water restoration declaration – it is pure fiction.”
The Democrats’ embrace of so-called woke policies has become a ubiquitous specter for the right in recent years. Like previous generations, for various problems, after major events like assassination attempt on Trump last July and the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge in March last year, they now routinely blame vigilance and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI).
“Can we rename DEI to DIE since this seems to be happening to people downstream from those who post awakened virtue signaling far beyond ability?!?” Donald Trump Jr wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
Trump confidant and owner of centi-billionaire X Elon Musk, never stay away from conspiracy theorieshe also used his platform to spread misinformation about what was to blame for the wildfires.
“DEI means people DYING,” Musk wrote in one post, while several other posts featured criticism of LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, a 22-year veteran of the department who was praised because together with her husband she saved nine homes from total destruction during the Woolsey fire in 2018.
Crowley is the first woman and first member of the LGBTQ community to hold the position of fire chief in LA.
Musk shared a post from Chaya Raichik, the woman behind it a hate-filled, anti-LGBTQ account LibsOfTikTok: “Meet Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. She boasts of being the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in the LA Fire Department. Promoting DEI’s culture is her priority. Does that make you feel safer?” The post has been viewed more than 5 million times.