*The former president has a history of tying aid for natural disasters to the politics of those affected.*
As the death toll from Hurricane Helene surpasses 200 people and the Southeast continues to reel from the disaster, Donald Trump is working overtime to politicize the tragedy into an attack against his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Despite governors from both political parties lauding of the Biden administration’s response, Trump is insisting the federal government has abandoned affected communities.
Earlier this week, Trump baselessly claimed that “the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of [North Carolina are] going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas,” ahead of a visit to a disaster zone in Valdosta, Georgia. But for all of the former president’s posturing as a capable leader who would better handle the crisis, his record in the White House says otherwise.
According to a Thursday report from E&E News, in 2018 — as wildfires ravaged large swaths of California — Trump initially refused to approve aid to the state because he felt some of the affected regions didn’t like him enough.
“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 recalled. His account was backed up by former Trump White House Homeland Security Adviser Olivia Troy.
Not hyperbole at all, Trump is a fucking psychopath.
VladtheInhaler999 on
He really was going to leave Americans to suffer.
Jackinapox on
> the former president only approved the aid after being shown data proving that the affected counties contained a sufficient amount of his supporters. …..“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,”
Pure Evil
VainEldritch on
Just the kind of petty childishness I’d expect from this idiot.
Giving him a second term as president will be like giving a machine-gun to a baboon – he’ll just hurt a lot of people and shit everywhere.
sgrams04 on
I hope one day our lawmakers patch up all the holes of corruption and divisiveness this man poked in our democracy so that it can’t happen again.
ExoticEmployment8558 on
On brand for a guy that only cares about himself…and those who kiss the ring.
geologicalnoise on
Oh look, yet another disqualifying factor for this orange shitgibbon.
ohulittlewhitepoodle on
It’s just totally depressing. This would be a huge scandal if Biden staff said he had done this. Trump supporters wont even hear about this or care.
faith_apnea on
This was when he still had his faculties “together” too.
Not so much these days.
OnyxAubrey on
This is the weaponization of the Federal Government to punish political opponents. Fascism 101
OnyxAubrey on
More than once during his term Trump did similar things, withholding needed aid or funding or something until the governor of the state in need sucked up to him and spoke nicely of him, especially if it’s a state with a governor that had ever criticized him. Just look at his response to Covid, especially in the early days of the pandemic. As it was mostly affecting blue states at the time Trump didn’t do a damn thing.
That’s one of the biggest differences between Trump and Biden, Biden hasn’t hesitated to send assistance to whatever state needed it after a natural disaster or something even when the governor of the state is one that has criticized or even openly bad mouthed him while Trump would withhold assistance the people of a state needed until the governor sucked up to him.
Hayes4prez on
Fuck Trump. That’s not leadership, that’s just pure hatred.
Ecstatic_Tip_9290 on
Make sure you’re REGISTERED and VOTE. Not long left to go.
SimTheWorld on
We knew that Trump and his administration were primarily concerned with representing ONLY their constituents. That’s why MAGA keeps voting for him. Who wouldn’t?
Unfortunately that’s just a grifters game as Trump only REALLY care about himself. Exhibit #1 is how quickly he flipped and sold out his Jan 6th “follows” and left them to rot in jail. Even now admitting it was all for his fantasy!
Eventually the adults will have to vote and take the reins back. I can only hope they are more progressive.
memomem on
yep, trump’s a piece of shit. he does this ALL the time. he’s always playing politics with government agencies and general government function.
# Trump, in reversal, approves California wildfire aid
# Trump threatens to pull federal funding for California wildfires over ‘gross mismanagement’
>President Donald Trump woke up in Paris on Saturday in the mood to make threats toward California as it deals with deadly wildfires in Northern California and hundreds of smoldering homes in Southern California. In an angry tweet, the president threatened to pull federal funding for the state if nothing is done to “remedy” the situation.
# Trump administration rejects California’s disaster assistance request for wildfires
>The Trump administration has rejected California’s request for a disaster declaration for six destructive wildfires that burned hundreds of thousands of acres across the state, including a massive central California wildfire that has become the single largest in state history.
# Trump threatens to withhold wildfire funding unless California sends more water to farmers
>On Friday, Sept. 13, former president Donald Trump visited Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., where he held a news conference to discuss a land movement crisis the area had been experiencing.
>During his address, he said that, if elected, he would withhold federal aid for Californian wildfires if Governor Newsom did not change water policies. Trump said he wanted California to allow more water to be diverted to farmers rather than allowed to flow into the delta.
Just when you think he can’t sink any lower, he keeps digging…
ChodeCookies on
Not a bug it’s a feature. This is the world MAGA want…
MinimumApricot365 on
There is no other word for this than EVIL.
This is not politics, this is not factionalism, this is not normal, this is PURE EVIL.
Unlikely_Zucchini574 on
Same shit, different disaster. He did the same with NYC when Covid was ripping through.
Morguard on
Why is anyone surprised? He was actively tried to kill democrats during COVID by withholding aid to cities.
SchrodingersTIKTOK on
“Let’s nuke the hurricane, can we nuke it?”
danceswithsteers on
This is part of the reason (including his stance on LGBTQ+ issues) why I started saying, for the first time ever, that Trump was, in a very real way, not my President. He clearly believed that he was only President for certain Americans; those that support him.
As someone close to him said once, “every relationship with him is transactional.”
Icy-Tooth-9167 on
As if THIS would have any impact on the genocidal MAGA cult.
Alternative_Car_3823 on
That’s why he’s been lying that the republican areas hit by Helene are being ignored while democrat areas are being prioritized, because it’s exactly the type of disgusting shit he knows he did and would do again. It’s always projection with these people.
damienbarrett on
What.A.Piece.Of.Shit.
Sometimes we just have to flush twice. Vote in November. Flush this turd.
dpmad1 on
If Don could “Off” you for not voting for him he would, and he’d take all your assets.
Darth_drizzt_42 on
It’s genuinely amazing how quickly people forget these trump actively tried to weaponized Covid to commit genocide against blue states. It was just daily stories that he had the feds confiscating aid supplies being shipped to state emergency warehouses, and then ransoming them off to favored republican governors. Shit, remember when the owner of the New England Patriots had to use his private jet to bring in supplies, cause otherwise Trump’s cronies would have confiscated it? Aside from the fact that I wish *someone* would attempt a crimes against humanity case, he did this shit for everything, everywhere.
throoawoot on
What a despicable fuck. He serves only himself.
Beautiful_Spite_3394 on
And if you listen, this is a popular talking point on the right that Biden has been refusing aid. Projection is the only move they know….
Artseid on
I’m not surprised even the slightest. What surprises is that he’s a contender for the presidency again!
Oh my gawd, my sanity is going down the toilet.
Dariawasright on
Just remember, if you’re a Republican who lives in a blue area. Trump won’t help you in a disaster.
MidcenturyPostmod on
I mean, he went on national TV repeatedly to say he wasn’t “bailing out” blue states were during COVID. I’m not sure this is news.
JellicoAlpha_3_1 on
The reason he accuses people of shit is because he is doing that shit and he just assumes everyone else is also doing the same shit
This is nothing new
11PoseidonsKiss20 on
Wait until he finds out about the rural Appalachia in NC and VA that were affected.
Yes Asheville is blue. But only Asheville. The areas immediately surrounding that are hollers and hillbillies. As red as a carpet in Hollywood
37 Comments
***From Rolling Stone’s Nikki McCann Ramirez:***
*The former president has a history of tying aid for natural disasters to the politics of those affected.*
As the death toll from Hurricane Helene surpasses 200 people and the Southeast continues to reel from the disaster, Donald Trump is working overtime to politicize the tragedy into an attack against his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Despite governors from both political parties lauding of the Biden administration’s response, Trump is insisting the federal government has abandoned affected communities.
Earlier this week, Trump baselessly claimed that “the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of [North Carolina are] going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas,” ahead of a visit to a disaster zone in Valdosta, Georgia. But for all of the former president’s posturing as a capable leader who would better handle the crisis, his record in the White House says otherwise.
According to a Thursday report from E&E News, in 2018 — as wildfires ravaged large swaths of California — Trump initially refused to approve aid to the state because he felt some of the affected regions didn’t like him enough.
Read more: [https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-delayed-wildfire-aid-california-1235124062/](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-delayed-wildfire-aid-california-1235124062/)
“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 recalled. His account was backed up by former Trump White House Homeland Security Adviser Olivia Troy.
Not hyperbole at all, Trump is a fucking psychopath.
He really was going to leave Americans to suffer.
> the former president only approved the aid after being shown data proving that the affected counties contained a sufficient amount of his supporters. …..“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,”
Pure Evil
Just the kind of petty childishness I’d expect from this idiot.
Giving him a second term as president will be like giving a machine-gun to a baboon – he’ll just hurt a lot of people and shit everywhere.
I hope one day our lawmakers patch up all the holes of corruption and divisiveness this man poked in our democracy so that it can’t happen again.
On brand for a guy that only cares about himself…and those who kiss the ring.
Oh look, yet another disqualifying factor for this orange shitgibbon.
It’s just totally depressing. This would be a huge scandal if Biden staff said he had done this. Trump supporters wont even hear about this or care.
This was when he still had his faculties “together” too.
Not so much these days.
This is the weaponization of the Federal Government to punish political opponents. Fascism 101
More than once during his term Trump did similar things, withholding needed aid or funding or something until the governor of the state in need sucked up to him and spoke nicely of him, especially if it’s a state with a governor that had ever criticized him. Just look at his response to Covid, especially in the early days of the pandemic. As it was mostly affecting blue states at the time Trump didn’t do a damn thing.
That’s one of the biggest differences between Trump and Biden, Biden hasn’t hesitated to send assistance to whatever state needed it after a natural disaster or something even when the governor of the state is one that has criticized or even openly bad mouthed him while Trump would withhold assistance the people of a state needed until the governor sucked up to him.
Fuck Trump. That’s not leadership, that’s just pure hatred.
Make sure you’re REGISTERED and VOTE. Not long left to go.
We knew that Trump and his administration were primarily concerned with representing ONLY their constituents. That’s why MAGA keeps voting for him. Who wouldn’t?
Unfortunately that’s just a grifters game as Trump only REALLY care about himself. Exhibit #1 is how quickly he flipped and sold out his Jan 6th “follows” and left them to rot in jail. Even now admitting it was all for his fantasy!
Eventually the adults will have to vote and take the reins back. I can only hope they are more progressive.
yep, trump’s a piece of shit. he does this ALL the time. he’s always playing politics with government agencies and general government function.
# Trump, in reversal, approves California wildfire aid
[https://www.reuters.com/article/world/trump-in-reversal-approves-california-wildfire-aid-idUSKBN27202M/](https://www.reuters.com/article/world/trump-in-reversal-approves-california-wildfire-aid-idUSKBN27202M/)
**in 2018:**
# Trump threatens to pull federal funding for California wildfires over ‘gross mismanagement’
>President Donald Trump woke up in Paris on Saturday in the mood to make threats toward California as it deals with deadly wildfires in Northern California and hundreds of smoldering homes in Southern California. In an angry tweet, the president threatened to pull federal funding for the state if nothing is done to “remedy” the situation.
[https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-threatens-pull-federal-funding-california-wildfires-gross/story?id=59102371](https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-threatens-pull-federal-funding-california-wildfires-gross/story?id=59102371)
**in 2019:**
# California fires: Trump threatens to pull federal aid
>Nearly 100,000 acres have been destroyed by wildfires in recent weeks, and thousands have been forced from their homes.
>Mr Trump blamed Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, saying he had done a “terrible job of forest management”.
[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50284656](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50284656)
**in 2020:**
# Trump administration rejects California’s disaster assistance request for wildfires
>The Trump administration has rejected California’s request for a disaster declaration for six destructive wildfires that burned hundreds of thousands of acres across the state, including a massive central California wildfire that has become the single largest in state history.
[https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/15/politics/trump-california-fire-disaster-assistance/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/15/politics/trump-california-fire-disaster-assistance/index.html)
**this is Sept 16, 2024:**
# Trump threatens to withhold wildfire funding unless California sends more water to farmers
>On Friday, Sept. 13, former president Donald Trump visited Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., where he held a news conference to discuss a land movement crisis the area had been experiencing.
>During his address, he said that, if elected, he would withhold federal aid for Californian wildfires if Governor Newsom did not change water policies. Trump said he wanted California to allow more water to be diverted to farmers rather than allowed to flow into the delta.
[https://krcrtv.com/news/local/trump-threatens-to-withhold-wildfire-funding-unless-california-sends-more-water-to-farmers-donald-trump-gavin-newsom-california-wildfires-water-policies-movement-rancho-palos-verdes-federal-aid-address](https://krcrtv.com/news/local/trump-threatens-to-withhold-wildfire-funding-unless-california-sends-more-water-to-farmers-donald-trump-gavin-newsom-california-wildfires-water-policies-movement-rancho-palos-verdes-federal-aid-address)
Just when you think he can’t sink any lower, he keeps digging…
Not a bug it’s a feature. This is the world MAGA want…
There is no other word for this than EVIL.
This is not politics, this is not factionalism, this is not normal, this is PURE EVIL.
Same shit, different disaster. He did the same with NYC when Covid was ripping through.
Why is anyone surprised? He was actively tried to kill democrats during COVID by withholding aid to cities.
“Let’s nuke the hurricane, can we nuke it?”
This is part of the reason (including his stance on LGBTQ+ issues) why I started saying, for the first time ever, that Trump was, in a very real way, not my President. He clearly believed that he was only President for certain Americans; those that support him.
As someone close to him said once, “every relationship with him is transactional.”
As if THIS would have any impact on the genocidal MAGA cult.
That’s why he’s been lying that the republican areas hit by Helene are being ignored while democrat areas are being prioritized, because it’s exactly the type of disgusting shit he knows he did and would do again. It’s always projection with these people.
What.A.Piece.Of.Shit.
Sometimes we just have to flush twice. Vote in November. Flush this turd.
If Don could “Off” you for not voting for him he would, and he’d take all your assets.
It’s genuinely amazing how quickly people forget these trump actively tried to weaponized Covid to commit genocide against blue states. It was just daily stories that he had the feds confiscating aid supplies being shipped to state emergency warehouses, and then ransoming them off to favored republican governors. Shit, remember when the owner of the New England Patriots had to use his private jet to bring in supplies, cause otherwise Trump’s cronies would have confiscated it? Aside from the fact that I wish *someone* would attempt a crimes against humanity case, he did this shit for everything, everywhere.
What a despicable fuck. He serves only himself.
And if you listen, this is a popular talking point on the right that Biden has been refusing aid. Projection is the only move they know….
I’m not surprised even the slightest. What surprises is that he’s a contender for the presidency again!
Oh my gawd, my sanity is going down the toilet.
Just remember, if you’re a Republican who lives in a blue area. Trump won’t help you in a disaster.
I mean, he went on national TV repeatedly to say he wasn’t “bailing out” blue states were during COVID. I’m not sure this is news.
The reason he accuses people of shit is because he is doing that shit and he just assumes everyone else is also doing the same shit
This is nothing new
Wait until he finds out about the rural Appalachia in NC and VA that were affected.
Yes Asheville is blue. But only Asheville. The areas immediately surrounding that are hollers and hillbillies. As red as a carpet in Hollywood
Fucking terrorist
Total fucking scumbag.