Bernie Sanders takes heat for blaming California wildfires on climate change: 'Global warming ate my homework'
As wildfires ravage California, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is facing pushback for promoting climate alarmism.
Sanders asserted that "Climate change is real" and that President-elect Donald Trump must tackle the "existential crisis."
"80,000 people told to evacuate. Blazes 0% contained. Eight months since the area has seen rain. The scale of damage and loss is unimaginable. Climate change is real, not 'a hoax.' Donald Trump must treat this like the existential crisis it is," Sanders declared in the post on Wednesday morning.
Mike Solana, editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires, mocked the senator's comments, writing in a post on X, "'[G]lobal warming ate my homework' doesn't work anymore. literally every single politician in california responsible for the catastrophic failure to prepare for this, from water management and controlled burns to the fire department's budget, is a democrat."
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Conservative commentator and author Justin Haskins, director of the Socialism Research Center at the Heartland Institute, noted, "Wildfires, including ones much larger than this, have been happening in California forever."
Nicole Shanahan — who was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential running mate last year before the pair dropped out and supported GOP candidate Donald Trump — was also among those who responded to Sanders' comments.
"State mismanagement is real, Bernie," she noted.
Sanders has long issued such dire warnings.
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"Climate change is an existential disaster facing the entire world," he asserted in a tweet nearly six years ago in February 2019. "We must transform our energy system away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. A Green New Deal can save the planet and create millions of new jobs."
Business tycoon Elon Musk has asserted that regulations prevent steps from being taken to avoid California wildfires.
"Climate change risk is real, just much slower than alarmists claim. The immense loss of homes in LA is primarily due to: 1. Nonsensical overregulation that prevented creating fire breaks and doing brush clearing. 2. Bad governance at the state and local level that resulted in a shortage of water," Musk opined in a post on X.
Sanders was not the only left-wing lawmaker deploying the climate narrative amid the disaster.
"I’m so heartbroken at the devastation that’s continuously inflicted upon our country & the world & elected 'leaders' are ignorant, impotent, or just incompetent to doing the smart thing, which is to acknowledge that climate change is real & start to solve it," Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, lamented in a post. "California, stay safe. First responders, we thank you for your selflessness. I join the chorus of prayers for all, but as an elected, I want to actually work!"
Freshman Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first transgender-identifying member of Congress, described the fire as a climate catastrophe.
"I’m praying for the victims of the raging fires around Los Angeles. The loss of life, homes, businesses and entire neighborhoods is devastating. I stand ready to work with my colleagues representing these communities to guarantee they have the resources they need to contain these fires, recover, rebuild, and prevent these climate catastrophes in the future," McBride declared in a post on X.
Trump has declared that California Gov. Gavin Newsom should resign.
"One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!" Trump declared in a Truth Social post late Wednesday night.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, Newsom noted in a post on X, "People are literally fleeing. Kids have lost their schools. Communities have lost their churches. Families have lost their homes. Some have even lost their lives. And the President-Elect’s response is to politicize it. We’ll continue to focus on what matters: saving lives and putting out these unprecedented fires."
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection currently reports partial containment of the Lidia and Hurst fires, while others are listed at 0% containment on fire.ca.gov.
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this report