Seth Meyers fired back Thursday at Donald Trump’s criticism of Gavin Newsom during the raging Los Angeles wildfires.
The Late Night host responded in his monologue to Trump’s allegation Wednesday that the California governor “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.”
“You heard Trump, Newsom refused to sign the Water Restoration Declaration, a very real document that definitely exists, right?” Meyers said.
He then played an MSNBC clip explaining how the Water Restoration Declaration isn’t actually a real document.
Meyers feigned surprise, joking, “But I trusted the expertise of the guy who said water that comes from heaven is called rain.“
Meyers continued, “And of course it doesn’t exist. You can tell just from the phrase ‘Water Restoration Declaration,’ which sounds super f---ing made up.”
The Late Night host also debunked Trump’s claim that a lack of water access is the reason the wildfires are still going on.
“Of course Trump is lying,” Meyers said. Quoting passages from a CNN fact check and a Washington Post article, he added: “There’s no relationship between federal and state water management and the intensity of these fires or the ability of people to fight these fires. Some hydrants are running dry not because the region ran out of water but because pressure drops with high demand making it harder to move water around.”
During a more somber moment earlier in his monologue, Meyers explained why he thinks Trump’s reaction to the L.A. fires is so damning.
“The kindness and compassion and resourcefulness and solidarity on display have been nothing short of breathtaking and awe-inspiring,” he said. “It’s as clear as ever that people just desperately want to help one another, which is why we deserve leaders and institutions who will do the same.”
Meyers added, “I think it’s also important to say again in this moment that climate change is real. It is an imminent and existential threat to the lives and safety of Americans, and we must treat it like the crisis it is.
“And unfortunately, there are politicians who would rather spread lies about the emergency response, and I’m not going to name names, but Donald Trump. His name is Donald Trump. Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”
