Trump Insists 'Raking' Will Help Stop Forest Fires; Twitter Reels
With 76 people dead and nearly 1,300 unaccounted for and feared dead in California wildfires, President Donald Trump had a word of advice about stopping future blazes: “Raking.”
“You’ve got to take care of the floors. You know the floors of the forest, very important,” Trump noted Saturday surrounded by the devastation of the burned town of Paradise in northern California.
“I was with the president of Finland and he said, ‘We have a much different —we’re a forest nation.’ He called it a forest nation, and they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things. And they don’t have any problem. And when they do, it’s a very small problem,” Trump said.
Critics were stumped by the raking solution.
They also pointed out the many extreme differences between warm, sunny, drought-stricken California with its annual destructive (and growing worse) fire seasons and Finland, land of marshes, cold temperatures and snow. A quarter of the nation is within the Arctic Circle.
But even with the fire-preventing advantages of far colder temperatures and precipitation, Scandinavia and Finland were hit with serious fires this year due to unusually hot and dry conditions, which scientists attributed to climate change.
Trump: "You gotta take care of the floors. You know the floors of the forest, very important... I was with the President of Finland... he called it a forest nation and they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things and they don't have any problem." pic.twitter.com/cC8syQobdC
— Contemptor (@TheContemptor) November 17, 2018
Yes, Finland is EXACTLY the same climate as California. I mean, DUH.
— Hmmmmmm (@hmullphoto) November 18, 2018
Any possibility that average temperatures, rainfall play factors?
— Patricia A. Scalise (@pscalise071951) November 18, 2018
Southern portions of Finland are snow-covered about 3 to 4 months of the year
Northern portions for about 7 months
And no forest fires!
Clearly Trump thinks southern CA should do the responsible thing and have much more snow?— Barry Nolan (@OnlyTrueThings) November 18, 2018
When was the last time Finland had Santa Ana winds?
— Datone4 (@allen_datone4) November 18, 2018
Someone please show Donald Trump a globe so he knows how close to the North Pole Finland is in comparison to Southern California. https://t.co/L0FgA0RL7x
— Billy Procida (@TheBillyProcida) November 17, 2018
Size of Finland: 338,424 km². Climate: Subarctic, winters temps drop as low as -30°C, and short, mild and rainy summers, top 17 °C
Size of California: 423,970 km². Climate: Mediterranean with dry summers, temps reach over 49 °C
Size of Trump's IQ: Too low to comprehend the above— SQUIRREL! 🐿 🌈 (@Iheartskwerls) November 18, 2018
Finland, in Finnish, is called Suomi - land of marshes. Finland is a very wet place. California, on the other hand, is very dry/not named for its massive wetlands. Finland not having horrible fires all the time is not due to regular raking of underbrush.
— Max Henry (@MaximusHenrison) November 17, 2018
I'm relieved that President Trump has the answer for stopping wildfires in the age of climate change. Who knew it was as simple as a "forest rake?" I searched for them on Amazon but couldn't find any. Perhaps a new product for Trump, Inc.?
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) November 18, 2018
RAKE NEWS.
— Chris Connors (@uurf) November 18, 2018
Is Trump actually comparing Southern California to Finland? Everyone standing around him appears speechless at his insane rhetoric of raking the “floors” to preclude future fires. Does it bother anyone else that Trump has totally lost it & has access to our nuclear codes?
— Linda (@Crackerthe4th) November 17, 2018
Jerry Brown rolled his eyes so hard, he rocked backwards, almost lost his balance. LMAO
— Steve Holderness (@dark_hawk_98) November 18, 2018
California in 2020 pic.twitter.com/tqMGqDMxGW
— Khaljiit // Julia (@Khaljiit) November 17, 2018
you know what else Forest Nation has? Social Security, universal healthcare, and strong unions.
— KelisePolarBear (@KelisePolarBear) November 17, 2018
Here I am, raking the floors of the forest pic.twitter.com/GHbo66FydX
— Trina Brown (@trinabrown1970) November 18, 2018
Finland isn't renowned for its long hot summers
— Colin Douglas (@ColinD66) November 18, 2018
Depends on what you consider long. This year it was a whole afternoon.
— Tero Tapio Huotari (@Tero_Huotari) November 18, 2018
Dude, do you hear yourself?
— Dacia Kent (@Dacia83) November 18, 2018
We’re gonna need a bigger #Rake pic.twitter.com/T1oyn9b0eg
— WhenD (@acetenhearts) November 18, 2018
This is not funny anymore.
— My name is Cat (@righteouslover) November 17, 2018
Also on HuffPost
Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.