President Trump Declares a National Day of ‘Raking’ to Combat Wildfires

In an unprecedented move, US President Donald Trump declared April 29, 2020, a National Day of ‘Raking’ as part of a controversial new approach to combat the threat of wildfires. The announcement created a stir, as many environmental experts and political figures questioned the credibility of such a strategy.

During a special press conference at the White House, President Trump outlined his vision for the first nationwide, coordinated raking effort. “If we rake our forests, sweep the floors, just like they do in Norway and Finland, we’ll have virtually no fires,” asserted the President.

The President’s comments reference a controversial claim he made in 2018 suggesting that Finland’s approach to forest management, which he understood to involve raking and cleaning forest floors, was the reason Finland has fewer forest fires.

Hilary Clinton Responds to Day of Raking

Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, responded to Trump’s announcement with bewilderment. “The solution to our wildfire crises lies in science, not sweepings. It’s high time we relied on experts and not baseless claims,” Clinton said during an interview with CNN.

Trump’s statement, however, was rooted in a misunderstanding of forest management in countries like Finland. Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, has never advocated ‘raking’ as a cornerstone of her country’s forest management strategy – a fact she clarified in response to Trump’s previous misinterpretation in 2018.

American environmental groups, from the Sierra Club to Greenpeace, have called for an evidence-based approach to combat climate crises like wildfires, rather than potentially ineffective tactics such as raking. Only time will tell whether this National Day of Raking will have any meaningful effect on the country’s ongoing struggle with wildfires.

* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.