EXCLUSIVE: California Globe Interview With President Donald Trump, Part 3
‘It’s the most fertile ground in the country, and the farmers can’t farm because they have no water’
By Katy Grimes, May 19, 2022 2:30 am
The California Globe had the opportunity to meet with Former United States President Donald Trump Friday in Los Angeles in a one-on-one interview, while he was in the state on business. We discussed the state of the State of California. As expected, President Trump had plenty to say about the politics of our unique state.
This is Part 3 of the series; Here is Part 2; and Here is Part 1.
“Water, wildfires, energy, crime, homelessness, education, labor unions, infrastructure… this is just a short list of California’s critical issues,” the Globe told President Donald Trump in our meeting.
“Water – we had water all done,” the President said. He said Wilbur Ross, Trump Administration Secretary of Commerce, moved mountains and earth to get water to parched California’s Central Valley.
Ross, together with Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke, signed a Memorandum of Agreement in 2019 to ensure that President Trump’s October 2018, memorandum on “Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West” was implemented as quickly and smoothly as possible, the Globe reported on in 2019.
The Memorandum of Agreement designated Mr. Paul Souza, Regional Director for the Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as the lead official in charge of managing the Klamath Irrigation and Central Valley Projects’ compliance with Presidential Memorandum’s requirements, as we reported.
This resulted in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service updating the Endangered Species Act, facilitating the delivery of much needed water to agriculture, farmers, ranchers and growers in California’s Central Valley. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, radical Environmental Protection Act regulations were thoroughly reviewed, relaxed, and some overturned, the Globe reported.
Notably, as this process was underway, the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom took their own shot over Trump’s bow with Senate Bill 1, the California Environmental, Public Health, and Workers Defense Act of 2019. “This bill establishes specified minimum federal environmental, public health, and labor standards as state baselines in the event the Congress or President repeals or weakens corresponding federal standards, and prohibits the corresponding California standards from falling below those baselines. In the event that new federal standards fall below the baseline, this bill allows private citizens to enforce state standards,” bill analysis said.
What the bill really did is sends billions of gallons of water out to the Pacific Ocean ostensibly to save more fish, while farmers and ranchers were starved for water, even in maximum rainfall years.
I told the President that the first 50% of California’s water already goes out to the Pacific Ocean for fish and environmental purposes – something the Public Policy Institute of California verified in 2019: “Water in California is shared across three main sectors. Statewide, average water use is roughly 50% environmental, 40% agricultural, and 10% urban, although the percentage of water use by sector varies dramatically across regions and between wet and dry years.”
“Did you ever see the valve?” the President asked. “The valve is bigger than this room and they turn it and it pours into the ocean. But if you left that water in you’d have more than you’d know what to do with.”
President Trump said he really focused on California’s perpetual water shortage when he visited then-Congressman Devin Nunes in his Central Valley district. “I said ‘how come those fields are all brown except for little tiny patches where they were wonderful green?’ He said ‘it’s because we’re not allowed to have water because of a fish’… a certain fish.”
I told him about the Delta Smelt, a tiny, non-indigenous fish that Fish and Game officials can’t even locate anymore to count.
“Don’t forget, this is water that’s been coming down here for years naturally,” President Trump said. “If that water was allowed to come down, California would have the money and farms. It’s the most fertile ground in the country, and the farmers can’t farm because they have no water.”
“And, you know, all I needed was one signature,” said President Trump. “And next time I’ll get that signature, because if I don’t get the signature from the governor, I won’t give any money to the state, as President. One signature.”
“It was all done, except all we needed was a governor’s signature. If he [Gov. Newsom] signed that, you’d have so much water you wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
As the Globe has reported, California environmental policy says the water “flows” from reservoirs are necessary to produce a rebound of endangered Delta smelt and Chinook salmon. The State of California directs about 50 percent of its developed water supply for the environment, including wild river flows, managed wetlands and wildlife preserves, habitat and water quality control for fish, and required Delta outflows, according to the Department of Water Resources, which also acknowledges that agriculture gets 40% and urban and manufacturing receive 10%.
This is why California cannot conserve its way out of a drought – total urban water use is only 10%.
California’s largest reservoirs were full less than three years ago and held enough water for everyone who relies on them for their water supply, for 7 years, according to Central Valley farmer and water expert Kristi Diener.
In 2015, per capita urban water use fell to 146 gallons per day, from 180 gallons per day in 2010, in response to drought related conservation requirements, according to the PPIC.
The President said people in Beverly Hills tell him they’re going to be water restricted to 42 gallons a day. “They tell me this is a very small amount of water, and their showers will turn off. Can you believe that?”
The President added, “I can’t imagine that that’s good politics.”
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Thank you so much, Katy Grimes. Alongside President Trump, you are reminding us of how water policy used to be, and would and could be now, were it not for our scoundrel leadership. And President Trump’s plain-spoken illustrations are tangible. I’ll always carry the mental image of the huge valve with me because of his description.
Knowing what we’ve learned about water over all of these years, thanks to outlets like the Globe, California would be the Land of Milk and Honey again if we were able to replace our current “leadership” and get back to common-sensical water policy. But we know the current “leadership” WANTS to de-populate this state, so fat chance we would EVER have abundance under their reign.
Thank you. It’s good to remind people of the regulatory changes/improvements President Trump made, which benefitted every Californian. Water=food=800K jobs=$50B in receipts. Ed Ring has a great article tomorrow in his water series covering all of this as well.
Yes, President Trump’s policies definitely benefited us all. And for Californians, 800K jobs and $50B in receipts are nothing to sneeze at, are they? Looking forward to reading Ed Ring’s article tomorrow.
Thank you for your awesome reports. The water issue when they allowed it to go into the ocean made me so mad. I posted about it on several YouTube channels where the news were talking about. The problem is Californians are so brainwashed into believing in the droughts as all natural too and that the households are responsible for the problems. Have you ever covered PrimaryWater.org I am trying to get the word out to my local farmers and to people with land as this could save us in the coming. We know what they are trying to do, but we all need water to survive. I am not willing to save water as the elites aren’t. I save water when it rains and in other ways too. Eventually we will have the grey water go to certain areas. We already have a filter on our shower too only to send most to be polluted and have to pay for it again.
Could you also look into Reinette Senum as a governor?
https://vimeo.com/711024556 Here is a short video she did with Dr Northrup and she explains how few votes Newsom got in 2018 and how important it is to vote this time in June. Also Dr Michael Huang is running for senate in the Roseville district. He is not in my district, but we use him as a secondary dr as Kaiser is not great, please give him some acknowledgement too. He is all about medical freedom of choice. Thank you. Get your news once a week. GREAT work!!
Ask the California EPA if they give a hoot about the ag economy of California. They could care less!!
It is way past time to clean out these bureaucracies, full of over educated wonks, who’s only concern is their jobs.
Appointed children of elites who’s hands have never seen a day of hard work!
The religion of environmentalism is responsible for the forest fires and now a water shortage!
They are now selling climate change to shift the blame. Shifting blame and not taking responsibility is a common political ploy. Its NOT CLIMATE CHANGE! Its bad decisions by stupid people!
Thank You Katy.
And for the Never-Trumpers, Trump understands the water issue better than 70% of you!
If people understood that Newsom stopped the water from getting to our farmers then just maybe he would have been recalled!
Wake up Californians, stop sticking your head in the sand and start defending your values!
Remember water is life.
Proposition 1 in 2014 dedicated $2.7 billion for investments in water storage projects. Where is that money now? How many water storage facilities have been built or upgraded? Enjoy bathing in a teaspoon of water?
For those who like to keep score, here are the primary results, so far, for Trump-endorsed candidates: https://marketrealist.com/p/trump-endorsements-list/. Many wins, few losses.