总统唐纳德·特朗普周一对背后的科学表示怀疑气候变化在加州的一次简报会上熊熊大火这给西部沿海各州带来了灾难。
而受影响州的民主党州长说火灾是最新的确凿证据特朗普认为，全球变暖是影响他们社区的科学现实，他重申了自己对气候变化科学表示怀疑的历史，并辩称，与证据相反，森林管理不善是近年来灾难性火灾的主要罪魁祸首。
2020年9月14日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普乘坐空军一号抵达加州麦克莱兰公园的萨克拉门托·麦克莱伦机场。
在加州首府萨克拉门托附近的简报会上，该州自然资源部长就总统的气候怀疑论对其进行了指责。
“我们希望与你们合作，真正认识到不断变化的气候及其对我们森林的意义，并与科学合作，”国务卿韦德·克劳福特(Wade Crawfoot)告诉特朗普。“科学将是关键，因为如果我们——如果我们忽视科学，把我们的头埋在沙子里，认为这一切都是关于植被管理，我们就不会一起成功，保护加利福尼亚人。”
“天气会开始变冷，”特朗普回击道，尽管专家们另有说法。“你只是——你只是看着。”
“我希望科学与你一致，”克劳福特回答道。
“哦，好吧，我认为科学实际上不知道，”特朗普说。
但是近年来，全球变暖背后的科学已经被广泛接受。周五，加州州长加文·纽瑟姆站在灰烬和废墟中，他说，最近肆虐该州的具有历史破坏性的大火是对现实的一个案例研究围绕气候变化的科学警告抨击那些否认这一点的人的“意识形态废话”。
“围绕气候变化的争论已经结束。就来加州吧。站在灰蒙蒙的雾霭中，纽森说。
纽森也在周一的简报会上向特朗普提出了这个问题。
“我们谦卑地从一个角度出发，我们认为科学是存在的，观察到的证据不言而喻，气候变化是真实的，”他说。
2020年9月14日，在加州麦克莱伦公园，唐纳德·特朗普总统在向七名加州国民警卫队直升机机组人员颁发杰出飞行十字勋章的仪式上走上讲台。
在美国广播公司的“本周”周日节目中，华盛顿州长杰伊·因斯利抨击特朗普因为他的评论将野火的责任从气候变化转移到了别处。
“我们知道，气候变化正在使火灾更容易开始，蔓延更快，加剧。现在令人恼火的是，当我们的社区面临这种宇宙挑战，整个美国西海岸都着火了，却有一位总统否认这一点...这些是气候火灾，”因斯利周日告诉美国广播公司首席新闻主播乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯。
俄勒冈州州长凯特·布朗周日表示，火灾应该成为科学现象正在发生的“警钟”。
“这确实是西海岸气候变化的风向标。这给我们所有人敲响了警钟，我们必须竭尽全力应对气候变化，”布朗在接受哥伦比亚广播公司新闻采访时说她补充说,“这个国家几十年来对我们森林的管理不善”也导致了她所在州正在发生的历史性灾难。
2020年9月13日，加州阿卡迪亚，山猫大火在住宅附近燃烧。
特朗普曾将气候变化称为“骗局”，并在2012年将其斥为“由中国人创造并为中国人创造的概念，目的是让美国制造业失去竞争力”2018年告诉福克斯新闻的克里斯·华莱士“也许”气候变化“在一定程度上造成了”近年来历史火灾的趋势，但它强调了森林管理高于一切。
总统甚至威胁要切断联邦资金他指责加州的民主党领导人对该州的森林管理不善，掩盖了该州的大部分森林是由联邦政府控制的。
总统上个月在宾夕法尼亚州的一次竞选集会上重申了这一攻击路线，暗示“也许我们必须让他们为此付出代价，因为他们不听我们的。”
2020年9月14日，唐纳德·特朗普总统在拉斯维加斯的麦卡兰国际机场登上空军一号，前往加利福尼亚州麦克莱伦公园的萨克拉门托麦克莱伦机场，听取关于野火的简报。
“我又看到了，森林大火开始了。他们又在加利福尼亚开始了。我说，‘你得打扫你的地板。“你必须清理你的森林，”他们有很多很多年的树叶和破碎的树木。它们非常易燃。你触摸它们，它就会上升。特朗普说:“我已经告诉他们三年了，但他们不想听。
抵达加州后，他在周一重申了这一信息，告诉官员们应该“清洁”森林地面，以保护森林免受干燥的树叶和倒下的“爆炸性”树木的影响，这些树木“像火柴杆一样”燃烧。
正如美国广播公司新闻报道的那样有强有力的证据表明，由于气候变化，野火变得越来越大，破坏性越来越大。更高的温度和热浪导致了干旱和其他情况，如小甲虫杀死了数百万棵树，为火灾蔓延创造了更多的干燥燃料。不断扩大的发展也使建筑和社区更靠近森林和容易发生野火的地区，使火灾更具破坏性，并使更多的人处于危险之中。
总统对加州的访问是在周六宣布的，当时总统已经在该国西部地区进行竞选和筹款，距离选举还有两个月。
周六晚上，在内华达州的一次集会上，总统谈到了他即将到来的旅行，他敦促他的支持者“记住这句话，非常简单，森林管理”，并说“这是关于森林管理和其他事情。”
Trump in California amid devastating fires, as governors put focus on climate change
PresidentDonald Trumpon Monday expressed skepticism about the science behindclimate changeduring a briefing in California on theraging firesthat have brought devastation to the western coastal states in recent weeks.
While the Democratic governors of the impacted states say thefires represent the latest piece of hard evidencethat global warming is a scientific reality impacting their communities, Trump renewed his history of expressing skepticism on the science of climate change and argument that forest mismanagement is the primary culprit for catastrophic fires in recent years, contrary to evidence.
President Donald J. Trump arrives on Air Force One at Sacramento McClellan Airport in McClelland Park, Calif., Sept. 14, 2020.
At the briefing near California's capital, Sacramento, the state's secretary for natural resources took the president to task over his climate skepticism.
"We want to work with you to really recognize the changing climate and what it means to our forests, and actually work together with that science," the secretary, Wade Crawfoot, told Trump. "That science is gonna be key because if we -- 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."
"It'll start getting cooler," Trump shot back, despite experts saying otherwise. "You just -- you just watch."
"I wish science agreed with you," Crawfoot replied.
"Oh, well, I don't think science knows actually," Trump said.
But the science behind global warming has become widely accepted in recent years. Standing amid ash and ruin on Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the historically devastating fires that have recently ravaged his state stand as a case study for the reality of thescientific warnings around climate changeand blasted the "ideological BS" of those who would deny it.
"The debate is over around climate change. Just come to the state of California. Observe it with your own eyes," Newsom said while standing amid an ashen haze.
Newsom raised the issue with Trump at Monday's briefing, too.
"We come from a perspective, humbly, where we submit the science is in and observed evidence is self evident that climate change is real," he said.
President Donald Trump takes to the podium during a ceremony to present the Distinguished Flying Cross to seven California National Guard helicopter crew members at McClellan Park, Calif., Sept. 14, 2020.
On ABC's "This Week" Sunday, Washington Gov. Jay Insleeslammed Trumpfor his comments redirecting blame for the wildfires away from climate change.
"We know that climate change is making fires start easier, spread faster and intensify. And it is maddening right now that when we have this cosmic challenge to our communities, with the entire West Coast of the United States on fire, to have a president to deny that ... these are climate fires," Inslee told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Sunday the fires should serve as a "wake-up call" that the scientific phenomenon is happening.
"This is truly the bellwether for climate change on the West Coast. This is a wake-up call for all of us, that we have got to do everything in our power to tackle climate change,"Brown said in an interview with CBS News, adding that "decades of mismanagement of our forests in this country" has also contributed to the historic catastrophe unfolding now in her state.
The Bobcat Fire burns near homes, Sept. 13, 2020, in Arcadia, California.
Trump, who once called climate change a "hoax" and in 2012 dismissed it as a concept "created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive,"told FOX News' Chris Wallace in 2018that "maybe" climate change "contributes a little bit" to the trend of historic fires in recent years but has emphasized forest management above all else.
The president has eventhreatened to cut off federal fundingto the state of California over his accusations that the state's Democratic leadership mismanaged the state's forests, glossing over that much of the state's forests are federally controlled.
The president reprised the line of attack during a campaign rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania last month, suggesting that "maybe we're just going to have to make them pay for it because they don't listen to us."
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Sept. 14, 2020, to travel to Sacramento McClellan Airport, in McClellan Park, Calif., for a briefing on wildfires.
"I see again, the forest fires are starting. They're starting again in California. I said, 'You got to clean your floors. You got to clean your forests.' They have many, many years of leaves and broken trees. And they're, like, so flammable. You touch them and it goes up. I've been telling them this now for three years, but they don't want to listen," Trump said.
He repeated that message on Monday after arriving in California, telling officials they should "clean" the forest floors to safeguard forests from dry leaves and fallen, "explosive" trees that ignite "like a matchstick."
As ABC News has reported, there is strong evidence wildfires have become larger and more destructive due to climate change. Warmer temperatures and heat waves have caused droughts and other conditions like bark beetles that kill millions of trees, creating more dry fuel for a fire to spread. Expanding development has also put buildings and neighborhoods closer to forests and areas prone to wildfires, making fires more destructive and putting more people in harm's way.
The president's visit to California was announced Saturday and comes as the president was already in the western region of the country to campaign and fundraise, with two months to go until the election.
Speaking about his upcoming trip while at a rally in Nevada Saturday night, the president urged his supporters to "remember the words, very simple, forest management" and said "it's about forest management and other things."
