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Politics

Trump Looked Up How Many Votes He Got in Wildfire-Torn Area Before Agreeing to Provide Disaster Aid, Officials Claim
Two officials from Trump's White House allege that the then-president wanted to withhold federal disaster relief from Democratic areas in at least three instances

By
 Vanessa Etienne
 

Vanessa Etienne




 


 

 


 

 
Vanessa Etienne is an Emerging Content Writer-Reporter for PEOPLE.



People Editorial Guidelines



Published on October 3, 2024 05:35PM EDT







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 Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty 

 Former officials in Donald Trump's White House have dropped new bombshell claims that the previous president wanted to withhold federal disaster aid in states that were not Republican-leaning during his time as commander in chief.


 Mark Harvey, a senior director on Trump's National Security Council staff, and Olivia Troye, the former homeland security adviser to Mike Pence, spoke to Politico’s E&E News and alleged that there are at least three occasions where Trump played politics and deliberately delayed disaster relief as president.


 In one shocking instance — during the deadly California wildfires in 2018 — Harvey claims that Trump initially refused to approve disaster aid because the state is historically Democratic. Harvey alleges that the then-president only changed his mind after staff made the case that Orange County, where fire was spreading, largely supported Trump.


 “We went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas … to show him these are people who voted for you,” Harvey said — a story corroborated by Troye.


Donald Trump Said 2 Chilling Words on Jan. 6 When Aide Told Him Mike Pence Was in Danger: Newly Revealed Evidence


 





 
 Win McNamee/Getty 

 Troye alleges that Trump refused to sign documents approving aid as president, despite pleas from local politicians, leading her to repeatedly call on Pence to step in.


 She warned that if Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, she believes he will continue to approach disaster relief through a political lens — a conversation that's particularly relevant as eyes turn to recovery efforts in southern states devastated by Hurricane Helene in late September.


 "It’s not going to be about that American voter out there who isn’t even really paying attention to politics, and their house is gone, and the president of the United States is judging them for how they voted, and they didn’t even vote," Troye said.


 Harvey added, "There’s no empathy for the survivors. It is all about getting your photo-op, right? Disaster theater to make him look good."


Ex-White House Staffer Olivia Troye Says Trump Has 'Disregard for Human Life'


 The warnings from Harvey and Troye, who have both endorsed Kamala Harris in the presidential election, come while Trump spreads lies about the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.


 On Sept. 30, the former president claimed without evidence that the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic governor were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”


 Trump also falsely claimed that President Joe Biden was dodging calls from Georgia's Republican governor amid the storm, which the governor himself debunked.


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 White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre shut down the remarks, noting that officials have rescued and supported more than 1,400 people impacted by the deadly storm. 


 "It doesn’t matter which state it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s a red state or blue state," she said. "This is their job — to get food there, to get generators there, to save some lives, to rescue people. And so we are very proud of the work that they’ve done."



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What's the opposite of aid? Because his administration was robbing hospitals in blue cities of medical supplies during the height of the pandemic.