Trump Calls Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention Ads 'Tedious' in Resurfaced Tweet: 'Enough Already!'

As Southern California contends with the devastation caused by the week's ferocious outbreak of wildfires, a tweet from President-elect Donald Trump criticizing Smokey Bear wildfire prevention ads has resurfaced.

One day and ten years before the fires broke out, Trump shared an early-morning musing. "Who is paying for that tedious Smokey Bear commercial that is on all the time - enough already!" A screenshot of the tweet was shared on X Friday.

The tweet, posted the year before his first presidency, dismissed the iconic wildfire prevention campaign featuring Smokey Bear, whose famous slogan, "Only you can prevent wildfires," has been a cornerstone of public safety education since 1944.

The U.S. Forest Service and the Ad Council, which fund Smokey Bear campaigns, have long argued that public education is vital in preventing human-caused wildfires, which account for nearly 85% of all wildfires in the U.S.

While investigations into the source of the California wildfires remains ongoing, extreme wind and dry conditions following limited rainfall are suspected to be responsible for the voracity of the blaze.

Originally published by Latin Times.