'Ludicrous action': California Democrat calls out Trump for 'P.R. stunt'

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) on Thursday called out President Donald Trump for draining reservoirs in California for the purported purpose of fighting deadly fires in the southern part of the state.

As CNN and other news outlets reported recently, the water released by Trump was never going to reach Southern California. In fact, Heather Cooley, director of research for California water policy organization the Pacific Institute, told CNN that the release of the water was "providing zero benefit and putting California farmers at risk of water supply constraints in the coming months."

Lieu recounted the damage done by Trump's actions while speaking in the House of Representatives.

"When you solve for the wrong problem, not only do you not get the solution, you can cause harm," said Lieu. "So Donald Trump has it in his mind that there's a spigot in Northern California, and he's going to open a valve and dump water into Southern California."

Lieu then went on to explain how this action by Trump damaged his state.

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"Here at the facts: Southern California's reservoirs were at near-record levels when this fire happened," he continued. "Did it matter? Because Trump then ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release over two billion gallons of water that almost flooded farmland if not for the local water districts that pushed back. Guess what: This water was saved for the farmers for summer when they needed this water. So Trump wasted all this water that isn’t even reaching Southern California -- it's going to evaporate -- for a PR stunt!"

Lieu then added that this "was a harmful, ludicrous action."

Watch the video below or at this link here.