President Donald Trump received a transatlantic smackdown after bizarre statements he made while touring the devastation of the Camp Fire in Paradise, California.
“We gotta take care of the floors, you know, the floors of the forest,” Trump claimed.
“You look at other countries where they do it differently and it’s a whole different story,” he continued. “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.”
President Sauli Niinistö of Finland denied the conversation.
“I mentioned [to] him that Finland is a land covered by forests and we also have a good monitoring system and network,” Niinistö said.
Meanwhile, Finns used social media to mock Trump's claim.
Here are some of the funniest comments:
Here I am just #raking around as all us #finns do to prevent forest fires. https://t.co/lNFUiQoqmj— Iida Kor Honen (@Iida Kor Honen)1542540079.0
Greetings from #Finland! Just finished raking leaves here. #RakeAmericaGreatAgain #RakeTheForest #Trump… https://t.co/eGc0UAVqkH— Kristiina Vahvaselkä (@Kristiina Vahvaselkä)1542545080.0
Young rakers. #Raking since 1970. #Finland https://t.co/4eV5m06Iqb— Paula Kinnunen (@Paula Kinnunen)1542563187.0
Only in Finland! https://t.co/2W3VqStnin— Outi Länsman | Májjo Jovnna Ilmár Outi (@Outi Länsman | Májjo Jovnna Ilmár Outi)1542541600.0
Just been out in the forest raking. It's my civic duty. We're all at it. So industrious. #Finland… https://t.co/CpQioB2SSd— David Mac Dougall (@David Mac Dougall)1542548903.0
Stay woke people, don't believe all the news about Finland. Some claim that the forests are raked, but just look at… https://t.co/oq2h24eo2b— Finnish Friend (@Finnish Friend)1542561529.0
In Finland even small kids rake forests. #raking #finland #forestrake #rakefinlandgreatagain https://t.co/1eG7sJdLqM— Anders Furu (@Anders Furu)1542537397.0
Tip: You can use side products of forest raking as a food. This is very common in Finland. #RakeAmericaGreatAgain… https://t.co/exZSYcDvMK— Ville Laitila (@Ville Laitila)1542562910.0
Just this afternoon I was busy meeting my raking quota. #RakeNews #Finland #Haravointi https://t.co/HLaHU0bimO— Tarja van Veldhoven 🌍🌌 (@Tarja van Veldhoven 🌍🌌)1542586094.0
Just an ordinary day in the Finnish forest ~ Ihan normipäivä suomalaisessa metsässä #Trump #forest #firesafety… https://t.co/mU44zuvoXc— Pyry Luminen (@Pyry Luminen)1542550421.0
Greetings from #Finland! Just taking a break from raking leaves and having a lunch. We have the best rakes in the w… https://t.co/U71Wm9GH9L— Kristiina Vahvaselkä (@Kristiina Vahvaselkä)1542557889.0
@realDonaldTrump @FoxNews Good luck Mr Trump! Best raking regards from Finland! https://t.co/xsV5qHZ1Jk— valavuori (@valavuori)1542562464.0
