
Trump's suggestion for saving the Notre Dame Cathedral was so dumb, the French government had to say something.

The French government was forced to make an official public statement to refute a wacky idea from Trump on how to fight the fire at Notre Dame.

As news first surfaced of the tragic fire that threatens to consume the entire cathedral, Trump's first response was to tweet his unsolicited "advice" to France for how to save its beloved landmark.

"So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris," he wrote. "Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!"


Soon after, the French government replied.

“Hundreds of firemen of the Paris Fire Brigade are doing everything they can to bring the terrible #NotreDame fire under control,” wrote the Sécurité Civile, the French civil defense agency operating out of the Interior Ministry. "All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral."

The French government had to publicly explain to the sitting American president that his suggestion would further damage the iconic cathedral.

Shortly after Trump's tweet, he suggested at a roundtable on taxes that the possible cause of the fire was suspicious.

"It’s a terrible scene, they think it’s caused by, at this moment — they don’t know — but they think it was caused by renovation," Trump said. "And I hope that’s the reason. Renovation, you know, what’s that all about?"The incident follows a February incident when the fire department in El Paso, Texas, had to publicly rebuke Trump for lying about the size of the crowd at the campaign rally he held there.

Trump often believes he is the smartest person around and insists on using his position to shoot out half-cocked solutions and ideas, even on topics he knows nothing about.

He requires public correction in these instances — sometimes from a local fire department, sometimes from the entire French government.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.