Trump demands voter ID changes as ‘condition’ for Los Angeles wildfire aid
President Trump said Friday that California must pass legislation requiring its voters to present IDs at the polls before LA gets any more federal aid to deal with its ongoing wildfires.
“In California, I have a condition: in California, we want them to have voter ID so the people have a voice because right now, the people don’t have a voice because you don’t know who’s voting, and it’s very corrupt,” Trump said during a stop in North Carolina before traveling West, where still-raging fires have caused at least $250 billion in damage.
“And we also want them to release the water. If they release the water, they wouldn’t have a problem,” Trump said, referring to California’s management of its water supply.
Trump, 78, made the remarks in the hurricane-hit Asheville area — where he floated abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and vowed more aid without conditions — before traveling later Friday to southern California, where he is expected to be greeted by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Trump has blamed Newsom for allowing the fires to rage and called on him to resign for allegedly mismanaging his state’s water resources, causing fire hydrants to run dry.
Trump, 78, made the remarks in the hurricane-hit Asheville area — where he floated abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and vowed more aid without conditions — before traveling later Friday to southern California, where he is expected to be greeted by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Trump has blamed Newsom for allowing the fires to rage and called on him to resign for allegedly mismanaging his state’s water resources, causing fire hydrants to run dry.
It’s unclear how Trump decided upon linking voter ID changes in California to wildfire relief — with no major election on the horizon in the Democrat-dominated state, which he lost by more than 3 million votes to home-state Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 presidential election
California voters generally don’t need to present IDs when they vote, according to the state government.
Newsom did not immediately respond to Trump’s remarks but has repeatedly brushed off criticism of his performance as “misinformation.”
If California tightens its voter-ID requirements and makes sure more water is “released … after that I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen,” Trump said.
“I want the water to come down … to Los Angeles and also go out to all the farmland that’s barren and dry.