Nearly 90 wildfires continue to ravage the West Coast, where over 5 million acres have already been scorched. San Francisco, Seattle and Portland have some of the worst air quality of any major city in the world. Hazy conditions from the fires have spread as far as New York and Washington, D.C.
President Trump was in California Monday, where he was challenged by California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot over his denial of climate change.
Wade Crowfoot: “If we ignore that science and sort of put our head in the sand and think it’s all about vegetation management, we’re not going to succeed together protecting Californians.”
President Donald Trump: “OK. It’ll start getting cooler. You just” —
Wade Crowfoot: “I wish” —
President Donald Trump: “You just watch.”
Wade Crowfoot: “I wish science agreed with you.”
President Donald Trump: “I — well, I don’t think science knows, actually.”
In Delaware, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden slammed Trump as a “climate arsonist” Monday.
Joe Biden: “If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of America ablaze?”
In related news, Oregon prisoners report being pepper-sprayed by guards after they were evacuated due to the wildfires, making it even more difficult to breathe amid the smoke and air pollution.