As Southern California residents flee their homes in forced evacuations, they can rest assured that their progressive governor will politicize their woes.
Rather than focusing his time and energy on securing the proper resources to fight one of the worst wildfires in modern California history, Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, is using the fires to advance his climate change agenda and attack President Trump’s “reckless disregard” for climate change.
In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Brown said: “The fire season used to be a few months in the summer. Now it’s almost year-long. These fires are unprecedented. … Scientists are telling us this is the kind of stuff that’s going to happen, and we gotta deal with it.”
Later in the same interview, he turned his attacks toward Trump: “I don’t think President Trump has a fear of the Lord, the fear of the wrath of God, which leads one to more humility. And this is such a reckless disregard for the truth and for the existential consequences that can be unleashed.”
The Thomas fire alone has consumed more than 230,000 acres, forcing thousands to evacuate, and causing Trump to issue a federal state of emergency in California.
After the interview, Brown jet-setted to Paris, where he was invited by French President Emmanuel Macron to deliver a keynote address at Tuesday’s One Planet Summit. The summit coincides with the two-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement.
This isn’t the first time the governor has delivered his climate message to an international audience. Back in November, the governor traveled throughout Europe in a private jet to preach his climate change message, burning several tons of carbon dioxide along the way.
During this hectic time, the last thing evacuees and firefighters want to hear is their governor pointing fingers and delivering a sermon on global warming. Clearly, Brown cares more about receiving attention and applause than about being there for his fellow Californians.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a freelance journalist in California.
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