President Trump claimed that California "withheld water supplies" that could have made a difference fighting the deadly wildfires. He then ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from Northern California.

Newsom and California are frequently the target of Trump’s ire. Some of his most memorable criticisms of the state have been over how it manages its wildlands in the face of wildfire risk. In his first term, Trump suggested California should be “raking” their forests to clean up dead brush and trees.