Newsom hits Trump over climate executive actions: ‘Believe your own damn eyes’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), a high-profile critic of President Trump, took aim Tuesday at a series of executive orders the president signed after his inauguration that rolled back Biden-era climate initiatives.
The actions, part of a flurry of orders and directives Trump signed within hours of taking office Monday, included beginning the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, a freeze on new offshore wind leasing, and expanding oil and gas drilling the Arctic.
Newsom’s one-sentence statement Tuesday read “If you don’t believe in science, believe your own damn eyes,” followed by images of the wildfires that have ravaged much of southern California this month. Trump has frequently blamed the fires on Newsom’s governance, and multiple Republican lawmakers have suggested the state should not receive federal aid without conditions.
However, one of the overarching causes of the fires has been a series of unusually wet winters in the region, which led to the growth of extra brush that became ideal fuel for fires after a severely hot summer, followed by an inordinately dry rainy season.
Trump has falsely referred to climate change as a “hoax” and while he has used that specific language less in recent years, he vowed on the campaign trail to expand oil and gas drilling as president and curtail moves by the Biden administration to promote renewable energy development.
Despite the Tuesday statement, the California governor also released a more conciliatory statement Monday shortly after Trump’s swearing in, referencing the president’s pending visit in response to the fires.
“I look forward to President Trump’s visit to Los Angeles and his mobilization of the full weight of the federal government to help our fellow Americans recover and rebuild,” Newsom said Monday. “Where our shared principles are aligned, my administration stands ready to work with the Trump-Vance administration to deliver solutions and serve the nearly 40 million Californians we jointly represent.”
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