Biden Makes Awkward Announcement During Briefing On LA Wildfires
President Joe Biden, just days before his anticipated retirement from politics, shared a personal milestone amid a crisis. During a briefing on the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, Biden announced that he had become a great-grandfather following the birth of his granddaughter Naomi’s child in Los Angeles. He described it as “good news” amidst the unfolding disaster.
“The good news is, I’m a great-grandfather as of today,” Biden, 82, said during a briefing at a Santa Monica fire station. Despite the significant announcement, Biden refrained from addressing questions about the ongoing environmental disaster, which has caused billions in damages and claimed at least two lives.
While discussing the wildfires, Biden confirmed that Hunter Biden’s Malibu residence had not been affected by the blaze. “It’s astounding what has happened,” the president remarked. “Only one piece of good news: my son lives out here and his wife. They got a notification yesterday that their home was probably burned to the ground. Today, it appears that it’s still standing, they’re not sure.”
Reports from the New York Post indicated that Biden had visited Cedars-Sinai Hospital earlier in the day to welcome the new family member before heading to the wildfire briefing, where smoke continued to fill the skies of Los Angeles. However, specific details about the baby, including the name and gender, were not immediately available.
As wildfires spread across Los Angeles County, forcing numerous residents to evacuate, a resurfaced video featuring President-elect Donald Trump has gained renewed attention. In the three-month-old clip from the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Trump criticized California’s environmental and forest management policies, highlighting issues that many are now reconsidering in light of the ongoing crisis.
During the podcast, Trump expressed frustration over California’s failure to build water reservoirs and implement effective forest management strategies. “They said, ‘We have no water,’” Trump recalled. “I said, do you have a drought? ‘No, we don’t have a drought.’ I said, why do you have no water? ‘Because the water isn’t allowed to flow down.’ It’s got a natural flow from Canada all the way up north, more water than they could ever use. And in order to protect a tiny little fish, the water up north gets routed into the Pacific Ocean. Millions and millions of gallons of water gets poured.”
Trump’s comments pointed to a longstanding debate over environmental regulations aimed at protecting the delta smelt, a small fish native to California’s waterways. Critics have argued that prioritizing the species over human needs has contributed to the severity of wildfires, which now cause tens of billions in damages annually.
“I could have water for all of that land, water for your forests,” Trump stated during the podcast. He stressed that basic maintenance measures, such as clearing dead vegetation and removing dry leaves, could significantly reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and save billions in damages each year.
The video clip, which resurfaced on social media, has sparked discussions about the effectiveness of California’s fire management policies. “WATCH:” a post linked to the video stated.
Trump also took to his Truth Social platform to criticize California’s Democratic leadership, specifically targeting Governor Gavin Newsom. In his post, Trump condemned Newsom’s refusal to approve a water restoration plan that would have allowed excess rain and snowmelt to flow into various parts of the state, including areas now ravaged by wildfires.
“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 wrote.
He further criticized Newsom for prioritizing environmental policies over public safety. “He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt… but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid,” Trump added.