Actor Eric Braeden slammed President-elect Donald Trump for attacking California and the state’s leaders as wildfires tear through Los Angeles claiming lives and destroying properties.
Braeden, The Young and The Restless star, is one of several celebrities who lost their homes as deadly fires rage across Los Angeles consuming more than 45 square miles (116 square kilometers).
In an interview on CNN Thursday, Braeden slammed Trump for trashing California, spreading lies and casting blame on the state’s Democratic governor in the middle of the disaster.
“It’s the price we pay for living in this beautiful area,” he said In a clip by the Daily Beast. “California is a fantastic state. It’s one of the most productive states in the nation—not according to the orange idiot who will take over on the 25th of January or whatever, but it is truly one of the most productive states ever in the United States.”
“To be very frank with you, I think everyone is really trying to do their damn best,” he added. “And some idiot—the orange idiot—went on television … and claimed all kinds of things about [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom and California and the water distribution. All nonsense. Disinformation.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked Newsom on his Truth Social site falsely blaming the governor’s water management decisions and fish conservation efforts for the fires and for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas.
Trump also cited a nonexistent declaration he claimed would have contained the fires and called for Newsom to resign.
On Tuesday, Newsom had urged Trump not to “play any politics” during the “precious moments that we have to evacuate.”
“What some of these characters are now disseminating on one particular network and on some podcasts is outrageous and very damaging to our nation,” Braeden said.
“This is a great nation, trust me, I know whereof I speak—I come from a nation that believed in fascist ideology for a while,” he added. “And we certainly will not want to go into that again. But we are close to it because people want to simplify complex problems. The essence of fascism is to simplify complex problems and feed people who don’t have time to read some bullshit.”
