The functionally extinct delta smelt entered national politics in 2009, when Sean Hannity made it a symbol of environmentalism gone wrong.

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025 (main) and a Delta smelt fish (inset). President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on ...

It's an attempt to change the environmental protections of the smelt, a three-inch-long fish once vital to California's ecosystem but now nearly extinct, and criticize the state's efforts while ...

The new president would have to quickly change his own regulations to produce more water. That’s not how things work, writes opinion writer Tom Philp.

But he’s also trained his ire on the delta smelt — a silver, minnow-like fish he says is impeding state officials from releasing water from the north to extinguish the flames in the south.

Donald Trump has derided the Delta smelt as a "worthless fish," blaming efforts to protect the species for the devastating Los Angeles wildfires on social media, in a press conference, and even a ...