Amid the ongoing impact of Canadian wildfires on air quality in the United States, a viral social media rumor claimed that former President Donald Trump suggested an unconventional solution: turning on a giant faucet in California to extinguish the fires.
The purported post, attributed to Trump’s official Truth Social account, stated, “I am going to California to turn the GIANT FAUCET exactly 37 DEGREES TO THE RIGHT and aim the beautiful water directly at Canada, under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Mark Carney, where it will extinguish the wildfires almost immediately." The fabricated message further asserted, "Nobody else thought of this—not Newsom, not Prime Minister Carney, not even the so-called experts. They have been staring at the faucet for YEARS and never turned it. I will turn it, Canada will stop burning, and America will have clean air again. Sometimes the simplest solutions require a very stable genius!”
This claim gained significant traction on platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), leading many to question its authenticity and prompting calls for fact-checking.
Fact Check: The claim is false. Donald Trump did not make such a post.
An investigation revealed that no such post was found on Truth Social or any other archived accounts, despite the screenshot indicating it was published on July 18, 2026. Furthermore, the screenshot displayed an inaccurate representation of Trump’s Truth Social profile. His verified account features a red checkmark alongside a white-and-turquoise plus sign, while the fraudulent post only showed the red checkmark, which denotes verified accounts.
The circulation of this fabricated post followed actual statements made by Trump on July 17, where he criticized Canada for its forest management practices. He threatened additional tariff-related costs, stating, “We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous and totally unacceptable!”