President-elect Donald Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump—the former Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair—was criticized after she erroneously claimed that climate change couldn't be a factor in the deadly Los Angeles wildfires, only to be given a blunt fact-check on social media.
Firefighters in Ventura County worked to contain a new brush fire in the Santa Clara River bottom Tuesday as powerful Santa Ana winds raised the risk of additional blazes across Southern California, currently facing some of the worst fires in the state's history.
The strongest gusts of this latest wind event were forecast for Tuesday night, prompting Los Angeles County officials to urge residents to brace for potential power outages and prepare for possible evacuations.
The dire forecast follows a devastating week of high winds and dry conditions that fueled wildfires across the region, leaving at least 24 people dead and around two dozen still missing. The blazes have displaced more than 100,000 people, with entire neighborhoods reduced to ashes.
And in blatantly false statements, Lara Trump effectively politicized natural disasters that devastate communities and claim lives. In the case of the ongoing disaster in Los Angeles, Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democrats have consistently argued that California’s wildfires are exacerbated by climate change and global warming.
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She said the following as Fox News displayed a chyron that declared that “Liberal jurisdictions double down on climate alarmism":
"These people cannot help themselves. No one wants to take blame for anything in California. Instead they're blaming climate change."
"I would really love for someone out there to explain to me how climate change is the reason that the reservoirs were dry, that there was no water in the fire hydrants."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Lara Trump was pushing a blatantly false conspiracy theory during her Fox News appearance.
In fact, California’s reservoirs were not dry at all, although firefighters did face challenges accessing the water at hydrants due to overwhelming demand and pressure issues.
The devastating wildfires, fueled by powerful winds and bone-dry conditions, broke out following an exceptionally dry period—Los Angeles received just 0.8 mm of rain from July 1 to January. During one of the state’s hottest summers on record, vegetation that had flourished during a previous period of intense rainfall dried out, creating ample fuel for the fires.
Trump was swiftly called out as a result.
Unsurprisingly, Lara Trump's statements betray her lack of understanding of the issues surrounding Los Angeles' water supply.
Scientists argue that the unprecedented winter fires highlight how extreme climate fluctuations, or “whiplash” conditions, are intensifying the likelihood of fires and other disasters.
Some experts contend that even the most well-equipped fire agencies would have struggled greatly to control the blazes in such a perfect storm of conditions.
State and local officials have faced scrutiny regarding their preparedness for the fires, especially after hydrants ran dry due to local systems being stretched to their limits.
Amid these struggles, multiple Republicans have dismissed the disaster, saying that disaster relief funds for California should be contingent on their willingness to adopt GOP policies, so Lara Trump's cluelessness is in good company.
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