Newsom and California are frequently the target of Trump’s ire. Some of his most memorable criticisms of the state have been over how it manages its wildlands in the face of wildfire risk. In his first term, Trump suggested California should be “raking” their forests to clean up dead brush and trees.

"I just want voter ID to start, and I want the water to be released, and they're going to get a lot of help from the U.S.," Trump said during a visit to North Carolina. On Wednesday Trump threatened to withhold aid and repeated a false claim that California Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials had refused to provide water from the northern part of the state to fight the fires.

President Trump says he plans to issue an order to 'open up the pumps' and deliver more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to California farms and cities.

President Donald Trump on Friday once again made it clear that he wants wildfire-ravaged California to bend to his demands if residents want to see any federal disaster aid. “I want two things: I want voter ID for the people of California.