Fires have erupted in California and have created over 7,000 fires in the area, s=destroying over one million acres of land. These fires have killed hundreds with many more missing and destroyed thousands and thousands of homes, leaving families with no home, belongings, or shelters. While some of the fires are contained, there are still some very large and destructive fires still roaring in America. President Donald Trump stated in a tweet, "There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" In other words, President Trump is saying that due to California's poor containment of these fires, he will be cutting tax money to support this cause to prevent and stop fires. Many firefighters have accused Trump of bringing politics into this devastating event and they are disgusted by the way he is confronting this natural disaster. Many say that instead of helping and saving lives, he is tweeting negative remarks and blaming California for these fires. The president of the International Association of Firefighters, Harold Schaitberger, stated, "His comments are reckless and insulting to the firefighters and people being affected." These tweets have affected many people and have insulted those who have been hurt by these fires.
In my opinion, Trump's comments and tweets on the issue are out of hand and very insulting. He should not be tweeting on the issue and should be trying to help out these people who were affected by the roaring fires. He still has the option to since the fires are still active and many are found without homes, food, or money. These firefighters have ever right to be enraged since they are risking their lives everyday to save these innocent people and stop the fires while the President of the United States is tweeting how poorly these fires have been dealt with. These tweets are insulting and wrong and I expect a nationwide apology.
Discussion Questions :
1.) Do you think Trump's tweets are justified? Why or why not?
2.) Do you agree with these firefighters and their anger towards President Trump?
3.) Should There be tax cuts towards preventing these fires?
4.) Do you think Trump handled the issue of these fires proffesionally? Why or why not?
I think that this is just another example of Trump waging his war on California. He does not have the right to try to criticize the management of the fire here, because all reports and indicators indicate that the firefighters are working their hardest to deal with the fighters and that there is no mismanagement. If this were a fire in Texas, he would not have had the same reaction and it just goes to show that the president can not leave his extremely partisan views and the election of 2016 out of his actions as president.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there could have been more to be done to prevent the fire, now that it is already raging and destroying lives and homes our president should not be taking this opportunity to slam California. People who have lost everything are looking to our president to help and lead them, and instead he threatens to cut funding. Now more than ever these citizens need the help of their government, and the cowardice of president trump to make this disaster political is simply disgusting. A true man's character comes out in time of crisis, and the absolute lack of sympathy and selfishness displayed by Trump is unfortunately not surprising.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump's lack of empathy and seeming care is completely unprofessional. While I can understand his point of there needing to be more done to prevent these fires, that is doing nothing to help the crisis at hand. Instead of blaming California and the people who have had their lives destroyed, it would be much more beneficial to work to put an end to the fires and later work with officials to think of the best ways to prevent future devastation. Preventative measures do need to be taken, but threatening to cut that funding only creates more unnecessary conflicts.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the first question, I don't think that the tweets were justified because the firefighters and other rescuers are risking their lives to saves other lives, and that should be celebrated than discouraged. It is understandable for the firefighters to feel anger and disappointment, because those comments coming from the president would be frustrating. Trump's comments was very unprofessional because of instead of figuring out to help the firefighters or the thousands of people that were negatively impacted by the fires, he was threatened to take way funds for unnecessary reasons.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump's comments are completely insensitive of the current crisis. While many people are looking towards their president to help aid the situation, Trump seems to be using the occurrence as another opportunity to criticizes California. While Trump makes a valid point that proper precautions should have been taken to avoid the current disastrous fires, his comments are only making the situation worse. Instead, he is showing a lack of empathy to thousands of people who have already gone through so much to begin with. It is important that the President come up with future plans to help support California instead of criticizing it in one of its most vulnerable and helpless states ever. His comments might have have value for the future, but as of right now, these citizens need the comfort of a strong leader who they can trust and rely on.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Trump's tweets have always been excessive. He is being rude by saying our fire fighters haven't been doing their jobs right and that's why we have fires. He is completely arragant of the facts and blames people for problems that they didn't cause or they can't control. Something is wrong when our president is insulting people who are suffering and risking their lives to try to control the fire and that is not okay.
ReplyDeleteThe president has tweeted several unprofessional comments and I believe this is one of them. I believe that there would be no reason for firefighters to be slacking on the job. There are several factors about wildfires that are uncontrollable. Furthermore, cutting funds for fighting fires would do the opposite of assisting to fight against this disaster. I think that firefighting is a very honorable job and Trump's disdain toward them is not how he should act, especially in the face of such disasters.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that what Trump has done is not professional since the biggest concern should be saving the people and calming down the fire rather than just blaming firefighters for "not doing their jobs". He shouldn't be pointing fingers when the fires are still going on and it would be more helpful to help fight the fires then discuss the problems in our system that led to the fires.
ReplyDeleteTrump's tweets were not justified as he clearly did not no enough information on the situation. He was trying to make a political point in an apolitical situation. He is not an environmental scientist and doesn't understand the uniqueness of California such that these large devastating fires are common.
ReplyDeleteWhile Trump’s comments do seem very irrational and harsh, it would be unfair to immediately claim that Trump’s comments are unjustified. While unlikely, there may be truth to what he is saying about California’s forest management. Instead of focusing on the politics of the situation, I believe that it is best to look into what allowed this fire to spread so far and to address that issue instead of just labeling the president as insensitive.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the firefighters that President Trump is bringing in too much politics to this issue. The way the tweet is worded makes it seem as Trump is trying to punish California, possibly because we are a Democratic state and the majority of Californians do not support Trump. It is unnecessary to suggest that he will be cutting off Federal payments and it seems as if he is only doing it to anger us Californians.
There should not be tax cuts toward preventing these fires and I do not believe there will be any in the near future. Trump’s claim of cutting off funds is purely political and has no substance behind these words. Furthermore, Trump is known for making these types of empty threats and taking no actions to follow his words.
Trump did not handle this issue professionally or respectfully. Evidence: the backlash he has received for the tweet.
President Trump absolutely did not handle himself or the situation with care, respect or thought. Being the leader of the United States comes with an immense amount of responsibility to lead and to set the example in government and in everyday situations. Yes, maybe the fires could have been better prevented. However, they weren't, and those are the facts of the situation and what happened. Cutting funding right when it's crucial and needed are certainly not the steps that needed to be taken. The people need support and help as many lost family members and friends, their houses and all their possessions. Instead of showing a complete lack of respect or care for the people of the country and all the brave firefighters who risk their lives to help others, he throws out threats to those who simply need help.
ReplyDeleteTrump's tweets may have had some truth in them, however, the way he expressed this thought was not professional and rather came off as rude and inconsiderate. In fact, the tweet only provides further proof of his seeming dislike towards California because of its majority democratic and liberal ideals. His threat of tax cuts does not seem like a logical approach to solving this problem and again, only contributes to his dislike towards California. As a result, I agree with the firefighters and their anger towards President Trump in that he should focus on aiding on limiting the fire rather than focusing on the potential politics of it.
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ReplyDeleteI do not think that Trump's tweets are justified. Firemen are out there putting there lives at risk, only to receive tweets like this from Trump. Although there may be some truth to Trump's statements, there's no reason for him to cut funds right when they need them the most, So I do agree with the firefighters and their anger toward President Trump because, like I said before, they are risking their lives to save the lives of many, and President Trump is rewarding them with a disrespectful tweet. I believe that President Trump doesn't handle most situations professionally. He actively criticizes people and things on Twitter which isn't very professional. I think he should get off Twitter and focus on his presidency.
ReplyDeleteTrump's tweets just goes to show how uninformed he is about the climate today. He continues to sign these executive orders and giving his support for legislation that maintains the devastating state of our environment today, yet he has the audacity to blame people for not protecting the environment well? Trump was out of line and his "God bless us all" tweet just emphasized his hypocrisy and insensitivity. With that said, I sympathize with the people enraged by Trump's tweets not only because he was insensitive but also because he has not done anything to really help. He just keeps blaming other agencies while he's not coming up with any solutions. Additionally, his ignorance on the issue really concerns me and others as well. He knows so little, yet he's the one in charge of these policies that can either improve or endanger the well being of many.
ReplyDeleteWhile Trump may be correct that a lack of underbrush management can lead to forest fires, his solution of tax cuts for Californian firefighters makes absolutely no sense. The firefighters are certain to be more knowledgeable than he is regarding forest fires, so if they are not managing underbrush well enough, it could be due to a variety of reasons such as concerns over the forest biodiversity or perhaps a lack of funding to do so. Most importantly, given the severity of the fires, cutting the funding can only be harmful towards the victims of the forest fires. Trump acted immaturely in his tweets, giving people the impression that he is taking advantage of this tragedy to condemn California, which is full of individuals who do not agree with his administration.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Trump's tweets are justified. He is not handling his situation professionally. There are hundreds of people who died and thousands of families needing to relocate due to their homes being destroyed. Firemen are risking their lives to save these people and their homes. His tweet came off rude, inconsiderate, and unsympathetic. He shouldn't be bringing politics into this natural disaster that is harming and ruining the lives of many. In addition, he shouldn't be blaming California for the fires because the state is overwhelmingly liberal.
ReplyDeleteTrump has not expressed his concerns for California correctly. Although preemptive measures may have been lacking for wildfire prevention, it is extremely ignorant to complain about it on twitter. Especially as it is an ongoing issue, and there have been many deaths, Trump has been extremely insensitive. Slamming a democratic state on twitter when they are in the middle of a dangerous crisis will bring him no benefit politically.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I agree with everyone else in these comments that the tweets were unjustified. I think that anyone who thinks through the situation logically would see that there is absolutely no benefit from him saying such things or criticizing the firefighters who put their lives at risk every single day just to try and save others in the community. This act of humanity is clearly above anything that Trump would do himself, but that is beside the point. What I want to focus on in this issue is that Trump has brought politics into a matter that should not be political or debated. We shouldn't be debating whether firefighters are doing their jobs. We shouldn't argue to reduce their funding. And we certainly should not be devaluing the hard work that they do. This relates to a lot of the other issues that are not a matter of politics that Trump has politicized like climate change. There is no debate about these things. Firefighters are doing the best work they can. Climate change is real. That is that.
ReplyDeleteThe way I read Trump's quote, it's not about the firefighters, but about the prevention of fires beforehand. In this sense, I believe his reasoning contains validity, and I do think that in this situation, bringing politics into the story is appropriate (but perhaps maybe it was a bit insensitive to make these remarks while people were still experiencing the devastation). Year after year, California has experienced many large fires, and so they have to improve in this respect, by using money to fund for prevention mechanisms. This is about saving lives, so California really needs to think about how they're spending their money, and not waste money on some of the areas that they have focused on way too much.
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