--- title: "Trump Blames California Wildfires on “Worthless Fish”" description: "President-elect Donald Trump has found the real culprit behind Los Angeles' massive and devastating wildfires: the Delta smelt fish." date: "2025-01-09" modified: "2025-01-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-california-wildfires-fish" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "donald trump" - "politics" - "the digest" - "wildfires" --- # Trump Blames California Wildfires on “Worthless Fish” ![President-elect Donald Trump has found the real culprit behind Los Angeles' massive and devastating wildfires: the Delta smelt fish.]() *\Image: Nathan Posner / Anadolu via Getty / Futurism\* ## Smelt It, Delta It President-elect Donald Trump has found the real culprit behind [Los Angeles' massive and devastating wildfires](): the Delta smelt fish. In a post on his [failing Truth Social platform](), the [forthcoming commander-in-chief slammed]() California Gov. Gavin Newsom — or "Newscum," in Trumpspeak — for putting a "worthless fish" over Golden State's populace. "Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way," Trump posted. "He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California." "Now," he continued, "the ultimate price is being paid." The "worthless fish" in question is the Delta Smelt, a small and endangered freshwater fish that's [protected under California law]() — and, though it's a crowded field, just might represent one of the former and future president's stupidest beefs. ## Very Stable Faucet As Trump's would have it, Southern California could bring in more water via a "[very large faucet]()" — a nonexistent water diversion system from the Rocky Mountains to the north that experts call completely nonsensical. "You have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the north, with the snow caps and Canada, and all pouring down," Trump [said during a Los Angeles fundraising trip]() last September. "And they have, essentially, a very large faucet, and you turn the faucet, and it takes one day to turn, and it’s massive." After Trump plugged the convoluted "solution," Oregon's state climatologist Larry O'Neill suggested in interviews with local press that this strange technology only exists in Trump's mind. "There is indeed no such diversion system," O'Neill [told Portland's *KOIN*,]() "and none has been seriously proposed that I am aware of." Despite his proposed technology not existing in the real world, the man who will be sworn back into office in less than two weeks thinks that California should be doing things his way. "I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!" Trump posted. "He is the blame for this." Back in reality, climate change and the [notorious Santa Ana winds]() are really to blame — but in this dumb age, who's keeping score? **More on Trump proposals:** [*Trump Planning to Cut Funding for EVs and Chargers*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()