Donald Trump on Tuesday highlighted his efforts to combat a “rather violent and destructive” species of fish in the Great Lakes, and called on the region’s governors for help.
Trump said he and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were working to protect the lakes from Asian Carp, an invasive species that threatens the region’s fisheries. In this instance, the name “Asian Carp” refers to four species that were introduced into the U.S. from Asia and Europe in the 1970s: the bighead, silver, black, and grass carp.
According to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, “preventing the introduction and establishment of invasive carps is the only effective approach to sustaining the valuable Great Lakes fishery.”
“I’ll be asking other Governors to join into this fight, including those of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, New York and, of course, the future Governor of Canada, Mark Carney, who I know will be happy to contribute to this worthy cause,” Trump, 79, wrote on X, along with a video apparently of silver carp jumping out of the water.
Carney has been Canada’s prime minister since last March, but Trump has periodically called him “governor” in reference to his idea of Canada becoming the “51st state.”
In a presidential memorandum last May, Trump supported infrastructure construction at the mouth of the Illinois River to keep carp out of the lakes. After months-long delays, the Brandon Road Interbasin Project is underway, but won’t be fully completed until 2031 at the earliest, according to one estimate.
In his post, Trump said he was also taking action to “save” Utah’s Great Salt Lake, “which, in a short period of time, if nothing is done, will have no water.”
The body of water, satellite imagery shows, is a fraction of what it once was about a decade ago. According to Grow the Flow Utah, eighty percent of its volume loss is due to water usage by humans.
Trump concluded his post with some self-aggrandizement.
“This is on top of everything else I am doing,” wrote the commander-in-chief, 10 days into his and Israel’s war against Iran, about which he has given mixed messaging. “Only ‘TRUMP’ CAN DO IT!”
