California firefighters’ union slams Trump for threatening to withhold funding: ‘He should be ashamed’

The president of the California firefighters’ union slammed Donald Trump on Friday for suggesting he would withold federal firefighting aid if the state didn’t go along with his political priorities.

“Former President Trump should be ashamed for threatening to withhold federal firefighting aid from California should he be elected,” California Professional Firefighters president Brian K. Rice wrote in a statement on Facebook on Friday.

“As of today, thousands of firefighters are on the front lines responding to wildfires throughout the state, and countless Californians are in harm’s way as they heed evacuation orders,” he added. “Nevertheless, former President Trump expressed that he would play with their lives and their homes if he doesn’t get what he wants.”

Earlier that day, Trump tore into California and its governor Gavin Newsom, whom the former president refers to as “Newscum,” over the state’s water policies, which have come under fire from farmers in red-leaning areas.

“The automobile industry is dead, the water coming here is dead, and Gavin ‘Newscum’ is gonna sign those papers,” Trump said at his Rancho Palos Verdes golf club. “And if he doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires. And if we don’t give him all the money to put out fires, he’s got problems. He’s a lousy governor.”

The Independent has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.

Newsom hammered Trump on X, saying the former president was putting lives at risk “to settle political vendettas.”

“Today it’s California’s wildfires,” Newsom wrote. “Tomorrow it could be hurricane funding for North Carolina or flooding assistance for homeowners in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump doesn’t care about America — he only cares about