Just two days after California Governor Gavin Newsom praised President Donald Trump for his help to alleviate the wildfire devastation in his state, he praised Democrat Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris for saying that climate change was the cause of the blazes.
“I want to thank you and acknowledge the work you have done to be immediate in your response,” Newsom told Trump during a Monday meeting. Newsom said FEMA’s response had been “profoundly significant.”
The climate crisis is an existential threat facing our nation and our planet. Addressing this threat starts by beating Trump in 50 days. Tune in now to hear @JoeBiden discuss the ongoing wildfires and what we'll do once in office to take action. https://t.co/kGKTCxNIX4
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 14, 2020
Harris: ‘These Wildfires And The Devastation They Cause Are Utterly Predictable’
But when Newsom met with Harris on Tuesday, the two said that climate change was responsible for the fires, even though wildfire season has occurred in the western U.S. for centuries and forest management has always helped to manage the blazes.
“Sadly, these wildfires and the devastation they cause are utterly predictable,” Harris said. “This is not a partisan issue. This is just a fact. We have to do better as a country.”
Harris and Newsom toured Fresno County fires leveled homes, leaving only chimneys standing.
“Those chimneys remind me of tombstones,” Harris said. “We have to understand that California, like so many other parts of our country, has experienced extreme weather conditions.
“It is incumbent on us, in terms of the leadership of our nation, to take seriously these new changes in our climate, and to do what we can to mitigate against the damage.”
Kamala Harris joins Gavin Newsom for tour of wildfire-ravaged California town https://t.co/B67TdhvBnv
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) September 16, 2020
CA Gov. Newsom: ‘You Cannot Be In Denial About This Reality’
The San Francisco Chronicle reported, “Newsom, who a day earlier gently urged Trump in a wildfires briefing outside Sacramento to accept that ‘climate change is real, and that is exacerbating this,’ bumped elbows with Harris as he arrived.
“The two peered at the rubble of a home that burned down to its foundation and looked at a burned pickup truck nearby.”
“Newsom alluded to Trump’s visit as he spoke alongside Harris: ‘If you don’t believe in science, come to California and observe it with your own eyes,’ he said,” acccording to the Chronicle. “You cannot be in denial about this reality.”
Over the past few years, CA has experienced some of the largest, most destructive wildfires in history—fueled & intensified by the climate crisis.
While Trump denies the evidence of this crisis, @JoeBiden will get to work taking the drastic action we need on day 1 to combat it. https://t.co/NNWHl4aJjT
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 12, 2020
RELATED: Biden: If ‘Climate Arsonist’ Trump Wins, The Suburbs Will Burn Down
The report continued, “The governor said Harris ‘gets it’ and that a Biden administration would be committed to rapidly overhauling America’s energy economy by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.”
President Trump has worked to put forest management plans in place since his election in 2016, but those efforts have often been blocked by environmentalists and courts.