Bernie Sanders, traipsing across far-flung regions of California as he seeks a comeback victory here next week, swatted at likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for minimizing the state’s water shortage and the effects of climate change.
“The people of California perceive that there was a drought here, and Donald has come to tell you that you’re wrong,” Sanders said. “You thought there was a drought, but Donald, who has studied this issue intensely for decades, has reached the conclusion there is no drought.”
Speaking to a crowd of more than 9,000 on the campus of UC Davis, Sanders sounded familiar themes about income inequality, broken criminal justice and campaign finance systems, the predatory nature of student loans and the need for universal health care and expanded Social Security.
“We have built jails, not colleges,” he said. “It’s time to reverse that trend.”
At a Friday rally in Fresno, Trump declared, “There is no drought.” Part of the reason for the lack of water, particularly in the Central Valley, he said, is the state prioritizing the needs of the Delta smelt over farmers.
Sanders, continuing with his playful knock on Trump as “one of the great meteorologists in the world,” noted that the New York businessman has previously said that climate change is a hoax.
“What the scientists ... tell us is if we do not get our act together in a very short period of time, if we do not boldly transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy, the current problems will become much, much worse,” Sanders said.