President Donald Trump thanked “President Trump” for turning on the water in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires, even though the supply was recently restored only after being down for repairs.
The president has been desperate to take credit for the smooth running of the water supply in California, boasting on Monday that the U.S. military “turned on the water” in the state.
On Tuesday night he was at it again, writing on Truth Social: “The water is flowing, big time, in Northern California. The long empty reservoirs will soon be full. Thank you President Trump!!!”
The California Department of Water Resources on Tuesday fact-checked his claims, making clear that the military did not enter the state.
“The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days,” it posted on X, formerly Twitter.
For weeks, Trump has ripped officials in California over their handling of the wildfires that tore through the Los Angeles area, often based on misinformation.
He has claimed California’s policymakers were to blame for hydrants running dry as the fires raged on, but officials maintained that this was due to the damaging effects of the disaster on the system.
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The state has disputed Trump’s allegations about the volume of water available, pointing out that there is no issue.
Nonetheless, Trump has insisted providing disaster federal aid for California would depend upon water being released.