President Donald Trump’s obsession with California’s water comes from an often overlooked source — Golden State farmers. Typically Republican and clustered in the vast Central Valley, they’ve long fought Democrat-controlled Sacramento over California’s limited water supplies, saying state officials shortchange farms to protect fish. They power California’s $59 billion agriculture industry but command none of the national political clout given the big donors of Hollywood or Silicon Valley. But they appear to have Trump’s ear. And he’s using their long-standing water complaints to feed a narrative of failed Democratic rule.

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