Austrian Minister Claimed They Don’t Live in Forest Cities After Trump Praised Their Forest Management Model

The Australian government has spoken to correct the U.S. President Trump that they don’t live in “forest cities”.

When spoken on the devastating wildfires in the U.S. states like California, Trump cited Austria and other European cities as a model of good forest management.

Trump said, “You look at countries, Austria, you look at so many countries. They live in the forest, they’re considered forest cities. So many of them. And they don’t have fires like this. And they have more explosive trees.”

“There have been both serious and humorous conversations on social media about the ‘exploding trees’ (Trump) mentioned, as well as the fact that he claimed we live within ‘forest cities’ which never catch fire,” Elisabeth Koestinger, Former Member of the National Council of Austria wrote. “As Austrians, fortunately blessed with a healthy sense of humour, we normally take such clichés about our country in our stride.”

“However, the gravity of current events make Trump’s words much more worrying — after all, right at this moment, thousands of people are fighting horrendous wildfires in life-or-death situations,” she told.

“In reality, Austria is a country situated in the heart of Europe, where people do not live in the forest, but rather with the forest and in a close, sustainable relationship with the natural environment,” Koestinger wrote.

Sustainable management of forests is important, she added. “To clarify: No, we don’t have any exploding trees in Austria,” Koestinger said, though she did confirm Trump’s assertion that “we have found a way to give our trees the space they need.”