Editorial: The one thing in the West that Trump actually can take credit for this week

Look, folks, we generally don’t care who gets the credit for good things around the West, so long as progress is made and people’s lives are improving (or heck, just plodding along about the same.)

But it irks us a bit when a New Yorker comes to town claiming credit for all sorts of things he didn’t actually do, so we’d like to take a quick moment to set the record straight about what President Donald Trump has and has not accomplished in his first week back in office.

Trump did not orchestrate the months-long investigation that led to the arrest of 41 undocumented immigrants in Adams County, several of whom are tied to the international crime ring Tren de Aragua, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, which carried out the raid after a months-long investigation in partnership with immigration agents. We celebrate the arrest of these individuals who had terrorized people in Aurora with their guns, armed robberies and assaults.

But The Colorado Springs Gazette trumpeted it as a victory for the Trump administration, reporting that the raid came as part of the president’s order to increase ICE raids. Do we know for sure that Trump didn’t order the DEA to execute their warrant earlier than intended? No, but we do know that government officials have been working on shutting down the gang long before Trump came to Aurora to draw attention to the problem.

Colorado’s new congressman, Gabe Evans, also attempted to give credit to Trump, writing: “We’re only one week into the Trump Admin and already seeing how strong immigration policies make #CO08 a safer place to raise a family and pursue the American Dream.”

The DEA made it abundantly clear that this investigation has been ongoing for months and an opportunity arose to capture many of the wanted suspects in the drug ring because of a party advertised on social media.

Less than a day later, Trump claimed credit for turning back on a water source in California, claiming he used “emergency powers” to send in U.S. troops to turn the water on and get it “flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest and beyond.” Hilariously Trump claimed this water had been shut off as part of a conspiracy to create a false shortage of water and fake drought conditions in California.

In reality, the water pumps had been turned off for three days as part of a maintenance issue. Water supplies in California are actually pretty good at the moment thanks to a wet year and careful water planning.

Were mistakes made during the catastrophic wildfires surrounding Los Angeles? Absolutely, and we hope the state investigates why some fire hydrants lost water pressure during the firestorm. It is critical information that every city facing the risk of urban wildfires needs to know and prepare for.

But Trump’s tweet claiming officials deliberately are withholding water from southern California is so far-fetched as to warrant a response, setting the record straight. Water allocation is not something we take lightly in the West, and Trump can posture all he wants but Coloradans know how hard a drought can be and that we must prepare. We also know our water officials don’t conspire against us to create false scarcity.

But there is one thing Trump can take full credit for, and that is dozens of Coloradans (and perhaps hundreds in the next month) who have lost their jobs because he cut federal grants to critical organizations across the state. This move came arbitrarily and with no review or debate from Congress. Many of these programs were both authorized and funded by Congress, and Trump is abusing his power.

We know that many Coloradans live paycheck to paycheck and this decision will harm families across the state as they try to get by.

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