Trump's tweet on California fires drives firefighter union to Joe Biden for 2020

Sacramento Bee (CA)

Dec. 12--Brian Rice, a longtime California firefighter, was furious.

Shortly after California's deadly Camp Fire claimed the lives of 85 people in Paradise, President Donald Trump urged the state to prevent wildfires by following Finland's lead by "raking and cleaning and doing things." Trump also wrote on Twitter that the the federal government may suspend funding for the state because of its "gross mismanagement of the forests."

Two days later, Rice got an unexpected phone call.

"I received a call from Joe Biden and he said, 'Brian, thank god for what you and the firefighters are doing,'" Rice recalled. "That's the difference in leadership. You've got a president that wants to create controversy and demonize and go to war with his own states and another leader who sees a disaster for what it is and calls me."

Rice, who is president of the state's largest firefighters union, California Professional Firefighters, makes a brief appearance in an advertisement the Biden campaign released Thursday hitting Trump over his opinions on climate change, calling the president's tweet "idiotic."

Citing the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program Biden helped create in the early 2000s as a senator to ensure laid off firefighters could get back on the job, Rice said he and his state chapter fully support the decision of its national union to endorse Biden's 2020 presidential bid. The International Association of Fire Fighters announced its support for Biden in April.

"For firefighters, the most important thing is the number of staff we bring," he said. "Joe Biden is at the ground floor doing everything he can to make sure we have proper staffing across this nation."

California Democrats have listed climate change as a top issue they'd like presidential candidates to discuss more often between now and the March 3, 2020 primary election, according to a November poll of likely voters from the Public Policy Institute of California.

One in five respondents said health care was the top issue, while 15 percent said they'd want to hear more about the environment. The economy and immigration were the next most important issues.

___

Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.