Donald Trump is once again bragging this week, applauding the U.S. military for apparently entering California and turning on water flow from the northern half of the state as part of wildfire relief. But Jimmy Kimmel was quick to douse that claim on Tuesday night.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump wrote, “The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!”
“Do you think he actually believes this happened?” Kimmel wondered a day later. “Or does he think we’re so dumb, we believe it happened? It’s incredible. The minute I saw the post, I said — I ran to my sink, I turned it on. Water came just gushing out. I let it spray. I danced around like I was Shakira or something.”
Kimmel wasn’t the only one to debunk Trump’s claim, though. Both California governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Water Resources — or “party poopers,” as Kimmel jokingly called them — both released statements to the contrary.
“The military did not enter California,” the DWR said. “The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State Water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful.”
Though Kimmel laughed at the idea of Trump being in a social media war with an actual governmental department, the host was also gobsmacked at the whole situation.
“Whether or not the U.S. military entered California and turned the water on is not a matter of debate,” he said seriously. “This is not liberal versus conservative. It didn’t happen, OK? But no one calls him on it!”
You can watch Jimmy Kimmel’s full monologue in the video, above.
