Trump Hesitated To Grant Disaster Aid To Blue States, Report Says | HuffPost Latest News




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Log InGo Ad-FreeNEWSPOLITICSENTERTAINMENTLIFEPERSONALVOICESSHOPPINGGAMESU.S. EditionOpen editions submenuPoliticsDonald TrumpCaliforniaNatural DisastersTrump Hesitated To Grant Disaster Aid To Blue States, Report Says“There’s no empathy for the survivors," one former Trump administration official told Politico.By Sara BoboltzReporter, HuffPostOct 3, 2024, 03:16 PM EDTLEAVE A COMMENTLOADINGERROR LOADINGAs president, Donald Trump wavered on decisions to grant federal disaster aid to states where he believed fewer people supported him, according to a new report from Politico that cites interviews with two former Trump administration officials.One of the officials was Mark Harvey, who served on the National Security Council as senior director of resilience policy. He told the outlet that Trump initially did not want to send the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Southern California amid the devastating wildfires there in 2018. Advertisement

“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 told Politico.“There’s no empathy for the survivors. It is all about getting your photo-op, right? Disaster theater to make him look good,” he added.He went on: “It was very much a business deal, like, ‘This a lot of money. What are we getting in return for it?’”Advertisement

Olivia Troye, another former National Security Council official under Trump, shared the same sentiments with the outlet, saying that she had to repeatedly ask Vice President Mike Pence to intervene when Trump ignored local officials’ pleas for help.Both Troye and Harvey have endorsed Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the 2024 election. Politico also pointed to the Trump administration’s bungling of FEMA aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Advertisement

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wrote about another instance in which Trump viewed disaster relief through a political lens in his memoir “The Courage To Be Free,” the outlet noted. When DeSantis came to Trump to ask for more help for the hurricane-devastated panhandle region, Trump responded, “They love me in the panhandle. ... Huge crowds. What do they need?”The report comes as Trump has been falsely claiming that President Joe Biden’s administration is not aiding people in Republican-leaning areas hit by Hurricane Helene.Since Helene hit large swaths of the southeastern United States last week, Trump has claimed Biden is “sleeping” and not taking calls from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R). Advertisement

But Kemp told reporters that Biden has been helpful and that the state is getting what it needs from the federal government.As president, Trump took funding from FEMA in order to finance his efforts to keep migrants in Mexico while they attempt to declare asylum in the U.S. Go Ad-Free — And Protect The Free PressThe next four years will change America forever. But HuffPost won't back down when it comes to providing free and impartial journalism.For the first time, we're offering an ad-free experience to qualifying contributors who support our fearless newsroom. We hope you'll join us.You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again. We won't back down from our mission of providing free, fair news during this critical moment. But we can't do it without you.For the first time,  we're offering an ad-free experience. to qualifying contributors who support our fearless journalism. We hope you'll join us.You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again. We won't back down from our mission of providing free, fair news during this critical moment. But we can't do it without you.For the first time,  we're offering an ad-free experience. to qualifying contributors who support our fearless journalism. We hope you'll join us.Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.And Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint for a second Trump administration, calls for deep cuts to FEMA and drastically downsizing the National Weather Service, which provides vital storm tracking services.Advertisement

RelatedDonald TrumpCaliforniaNatural DisastersFEMADisaster ReliefJD Vance Claims Trump Won 2020 Election, Won't Say He'll Concede A LossSocial Media Reacts To Melania Trump's 'My Body, My Choice' VideoTrump's Response When He Learned Pence's Life Was In Danger On Jan. 6: 'So What?" Go to HomepageLEAVE A COMMENTSuggest a correction|Submit a tipAdvertisement
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Hesitated is a goddamn weasel word. He *gleefully refused* aid to blue states, until convinced it could damage him.