Politicians often visit disaster scenes to advise on firefighting, with President Trump frequently suggesting California needs to rake forests to avert fires. He overlooks that the federal government owns significant forest lands and would need to allocate federal funds for this task. Amid a dangerously fire-prone season, Trump has not deployed U.S. Forest Service workers or National Guard troops to manage underbrush. Instead, he maintains cuts to essential services related to firefighting, impacting thousands of workers from various environmental agencies.
Many politicians love to play fireman, often visiting disaster scenes and advising real firefighters on how they can do things better. No politico does this more than President Trump, who frequently advises California governors they need to rake the forests to prevent fires.
He conveniently ignores the fact that the federal government he controls owns most of the lands he wants raked and that any money to do it would have to come from the federal budget.
If Trump really wants to reduce the risk of gigantic wildfires, as he says he does, right now he would deploy many thousands of U.S. Forest Service workers in the 18 national forests around California, along with further thousands of National Guard troops.
Instead, he is maintaining cuts designed by the now relatively inactive Department of Government Efficiency, once headed by billionaire political donor Elon Musk.
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