Liberals are at it again, this time exploiting a natural disaster to absolve themselves of any responsibility and paint President-Elect Donald Trump in a negative light. As the Los Angeles wildfires continue to rage, the corporate media, led by NBC, are treating the shortage of water for fire hydrants as though it were a mysterious, unexplained phenomenon. In their coverage, there is a clear reluctance to address the underlying issue of political incompetence and hold local officials accountable for their failures.
NBC’s Morgan Chesky takes viewers to the Pacific Palisades, where Fire Captain Adam Van Gerpen shows the lack of water in a fire hydrant. Chesky then interviews a firefighter from San Francisco, who explains that the ideal water pressure for a hydrant should be between 50 to 80. When asked about the current pressure, the firefighter responds, “I’m bouncing between zero, 50, it’s not a consistent pressure.” This lack of water and inconsistent pressure has frustrated crews and forced them to switch from offense to defense in their battle against the wildfires.
Chesky highlights how nearby hydrants failed and water pressure fell, leaving firefighters unable to stop the flames from spreading. He even asks one firefighter, “When you run out of water in that engine…?” The response is straightforward, “Not much we can do then.” This admission underscores the severity of the water shortage and its impact on the firefighting efforts. As the report goes on, Chesky shows footage of the flames burning and emphasizes how precious minutes were lost waiting for reinforcements to arrive.
Despite painting a compelling picture of the struggles faced by firefighters due to the water shortage, NBC fails to address the root cause of the issue: political incompetence. Instead, Chesky reports, “This is something we have not seen often but when the hydrants are dry, crews have to rely on these tanker trucks because the fire waits for no one.” By omitting any mention of local officials and the ongoing debate over water management in California, NBC absolves those who should be held accountable and shifts the focus away from their failures.
But should we be surprised? This is the same network that engages in Trumpwashing, framing President-Elect Donald Trump’s statements on controversial issues as more scandalous than the issue itself. However, in their coverage of the L.A. wildfires, NBC has yet to resort to their usual tactics. Perhaps it is because the elected officials in question are Democrats. If they were Republicans, we can be certain that NBC would have grilled them and painted Trump’s response in a negative light.
As more details of the structural failures that worsened the response to these fires emerge, it remains to be seen whether NBC will continue to refrain from Trumpwashing the story and hold local officials accountable. We cannot let the liberal media sweep these failures under the rug and use a natural disaster as an excuse to attack President-Elect Donald Trump.