Rep.-Elect Rouda: Trump Should Lead on Climate Change Instead of Throwing 'Tweet Tantrums'
*By Chloe Aiello and Justin Chermol*
Not many Californians are pleased with President Trump's weekend Twitter response to the wildfires that are devastating parts of California ー especially not Congressman-elect Harley Rouda.
Fresh off a victory in California's 48th Congressional District, the newly-elected House Democrat had some choice words for the president on Monday.
"This is the time to step up and show you have one ounce of empathy in your entire being. And instead, he uses this an opportunity to insult Californians, insult firefighters, insult those families that have lost lives, property ー incredible devastation. These tweet tantrums that show him acting as a temperamental, small child has to stop," Rouda told Cheddar on Monday.
Rouda was referencing a tweet Trump blasted out on Saturday, blaming the destruction on poor forest management. The White House did not immediately respond to Cheddar's request for comment on Rouda's criticism.
"There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor," [Trump wrote on Twitter](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1061168803218948096). "Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!"
Two new blazes broke out in Ventura County, Calif., on Monday. Firefighting resources are already stretched thin, as they work to combat three fires already scorching the state. In Northern California, the Camp Fire has killed at least 31, making it the deadliest in the state's history. Further south, the Woolsey Fire and the Hill Fire have forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands, some from the state's wealthiest zip codes.
Trump blamed forest management for the raging fires, failing to mention climate change as a contributing factor. [Climate scientists agree](https://www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/topics/effects-drought-forests-and-rangelands) climate change aggravates the drought that contributes to wildfires.
"Unfortunately our President denies basic science ... It would be better to see our country take a leadership role in addressing climate change and creating the new industries and new jobs that will have to be created to address this issue for the sake of humanity," Rouda said.
"And that's why I'm excited with our new Congress ... if the President won't do it in concert with Congress, then Congress will march ahead without him," he added.
Rouda just unseated Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a 30-year GOP incumbent with ties to Russia. [The Associated Press called](https://twitter.com/ap_politics/status/1061432753248448512?s=21) the race for Rouda Saturday afternoon, but Rohrabacher has yet to concede.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/congressman-elect-rouda-ousts-30-year-republican-incumbent).
Markets were pointing to a higher open to kick off the third trading week in November. It comes as stocks come off a losing week in reaction to October's consumer price index--which showed inflation at its highest point in over 30 years.
Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist for LPL Financial joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss.
Harvard Business School Professor Ranjay Gulati joined Wake Up With Cheddar to break down the massive challenge the Biden Administration faces in ensuring projects in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill are completed on time and on budget.
Jill is joined by Baker Machado to talk all things infrastructure: where will the money go and who’s in charge? Plus, Sesame Street has its first Asian-American muppet. And a trailer for the trailer for Spiderman. Huh?
In this week's Cheddar Changemakers, Megan Pratz spoke with a 16-year-old climate activist Sarah Goody. She is the founder of a youth-led climate action group 'Climate NOW.'
We toss around the term "democracy is under attack" quite often without thinking too much, but one organization is actually stepping up to do something about it. The Fairness Project is a group that funds and organizes state ballot measures across the country. It has used ballot initiatives on campaigns aimed at expanding Medicaid, adding more paid time off, and raising minimum wage. It recently launched a new direct democracy campaign to fight back against attempts to make ballot measures inaccessible.
Kelly Hall, executive director of The Fairness Project, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss more about the group's efforts to push for economic and social justice, avoiding partisan gridlock.
Doug Flynn, Certified Financial Planner and Co-Founder of Flynn Zito Capital Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says he believes the news of the infrastructure bill was already priced into the market and that inflation continues to loom large on Wall Street.
President Joe Biden signed into law today his landmark $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, and it includes approximately $550 billion in new funding for increased broadband access, improving the power grid, and more. But what does this mean for the American economy, and American workers? Eliza Collins, Politics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what's included in the bill, which former mayor has been tapped to oversee how the bill is implemented, and how these new infrastructure investments will impact the economy.
The two-week COP26 climate conference has now ended with leaders reaching a deal, but so far the deal is getting mixed reviews from climate experts across the globe. Chloe Demrovsky, president and CEO of Disaster Recovery Institute International, explains that while the agreement is a step forward in some ways, the world still has much more to work on in order to keep warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
Jill and Carlo cover the latest with the infrastructure bill, the growing state rebellion over boosters, Trump's dereliction of duty on the pandemic, Taylor Swift's reign of cultural domination and more.
