An obvious lie early in Trump’s inauguration speech

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The seventh paragraph of Donald Trump’s inauguration speech contains an unnecessary and obvious ‘pants on fire’ lie (my italics):

 

“Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina, who've been treated so badly. And other states who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago. Or more recently, Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense. They're raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now. They don't have a home any longer. That's interesting.”

 

Of course, there was much more than a token defense by Los Angeles County, which deployed thousands of firefighters who were hampered by high winds.

 

And nearby states each had responded to requests for help with more than a ‘token defense.’ An article by Christina Lords in the Idaho Capital Sun on January 9, 2025 was titled After receiving support during Idaho’s wildfire seasons, our firefighters are headed to California. We sent five task forces, 25 fire engines and 104 firefighters. A second article by Marvin Clemons in the Las Vegas Review Journal on January 8, 2025 was titled Nevada sending firefighters to help battle ‘one of the worst fires in history.’ They sent 50 engines and up to 125 firefighters. A third article by Stephen Howie at KUOW on January 10, 2025 was titled Hundreds of Washington firefighters sent to battle LA wildfires. Washington sent 45 fire engines and 280 firefighters. A fourth article by Joedy McCreary at USA Today on January 17, 2025 was titled No, California didn’t block fire trucks from Oregon over emissions rules | Fact check. Oregon sent 75 engines and 370 firefighters. Add those up and 195 engines and 879 firefighters came from elsewhere.

 

On January 19, a status report from the L.A. County Fire Department said:

 

“Firefighting agencies from across the country are joining forces at the Rose Bowl, coordinating efforts and resources to battle the Eaton Fire. Currently, 2,703 personnel are on the ground, working tirelessly to provide essential support for our community.”

 

 And an article from Gavin Newsom on January 20, 2025 was titled Here’s all the actions Governor Newson has taken in response to the Los Angeles fires described the current state response:

 

“Governor Newsom has deployed 16,000+ personnel, including firefighters, California National Guard service members, highway patrol officers and transportation teams. These efforts are supported by the biggest state investment in fire response in history — nearly doubled since the beginning of the administration. Response efforts include more than 2,000 pieces of firefighting equipment, including 1,490+ engines, 80+ aircraft, 200+ dozers and 210+ water tenders to aid in putting out the fires.”

 

Trump’s cruel lying is both horribly pointless and pointlessly horrible. In 2021 Adam Server warned us with his book titled The Cruelty is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump’s America.

 

An image of the Palisades fire came from Wikimedia Commons.