Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said he didn’t tell President Trump that raking leaves was a way to prevent forest fires, CNN reported Monday morning.
In an interview with Ilta-Sanomat, a CNN affiliate, the Finnish president explained that he talked with Mr. Trump in Paris about the California wildfires and a bit about Finland’s fire-monitoring system.
Mr. Niinistö said he told Mr. Trump his personal yard is raked and suggested that may be where Mr. Trump got the idea.
Mr. Trump told reporters while visiting the devastated areas in California that the U.S. needs to improve fire management. He used Finland as an example, and stressed that they spend “a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things.”
Amused Finns have taken to social media with their rakes and the hashtag “Rake America Great Again” to mock the president’s comments.
Just an ordinary day in the Finnish forest ~ Ihan normipäivä suomalaisessa metsässä #Trump #forest #firesafety #raking #forestry #Finland #Finnish #CaliforniaFire #RakingAmericaGreatAgain #rakingtheforest #Suomi #haravointi #metsäpalot #rakingleaves pic.twitter.com/YOKA3D6C2K
— Pyry Luminen (@pyryluminen) November 18, 2018
SEE ALSO: Jerry Brown on California wildfires: Trump has ‘got our back’
Greetings from #Finland! Just taking a break from raking leaves and having a lunch. We have the best rakes in the world! #RakeAmericaGreatAgain #RakeTheForest #Trump #SundayFunday #SundayMorning #rakenews #CaliforniaWildFires #ClimateChange #haravointi #metsänhoito #CampFire pic.twitter.com/gsM8CbLdSi
— Kristiina Vahvaselkä (@TravelWithXtina) November 18, 2018
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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