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In a recent Truth Social post, shared on Monday, January 27, Donald Trump mentioned that the military had entered California to "turn on the water." This post came amid the horrifying LA fires which have been immensely destructive. The post further read:
"The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond."
The post attracted massive attention on social media, and a trend called "Turn On The Water" has been going viral since then. As such, X has been flooded with memes:
A user tweeted:
"So basically our president sent our corp of engineers to California and THEY TURNED ON THE WATER😂🤔🤦🏻♂️."
California Department of Water Resources denied claims made by Trump on Truth Social
While the president shared the Truth Social post, a response arrived from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). According to the department, there was no military intervention in the state. They clarified that the water pumps were offline for three days for maintenance.
In a tweet dated Tuesday, January 28, 2025, the California DWR wrote:
"The military did not enter California. The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful."
The department even confirmed that there was plenty of supply of water within the state. As per an article by News Central, dated January 28, State Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire also denied the statements by the president. McGuire even pointed out some alleged inaccuracies in Donald Trump's Truth Social post.
He first emphasized the president's claim about the water "flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest." According to Mike McGuire, the water usually would not flow from the Pacific Northwest to the Central Valley.
McGuire then reiterated the clarifications given by the California DWR about military intervention and also confirmed that the pumps were going through maintenance.
This controversy happened after the president signed an executive order on Sunday, according to which the federal government was directed to take charge of the water management policies in California. According to a January 27 article by Reuters, the order further aimed at boosting the water supply to firefighters.
The outlet further reported that Trump made false claims, stating that Governor Gavin Newsom denied water supply from northern California which could be used in fighting the horrific fires in LA. A spokesperson for Governor Newsom has denied all the claims made by the president.
