President Donald Trump warned late Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) is ready to face a reckoning following 4 years below the Biden administration, arguing the emergency company has “not done their job.”
“FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida. We had Alabama tornadoes. But unless you have certain types of leadership, it’s really, it gets in the way. And FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” Trump mentioned Wednesday in an unique interview with Fox Information’ Sean Hannity, his first White Home interview since his inauguration.
Trump then turned his consideration to the state of Oklahoma, touting that he gained all 77 of the state’s counties within the 2024 election, and arguing that if the Sooner State is hit by a twister, state leaders ought to take the lead on emergency response earlier than the federal authorities steps in for added help.
“I love Oklahoma, but you know what? If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it. … And then the federal government can help them out with the money. FEMA is getting in the way of everything, and the Democrats actually use FEMA not to help North Carolina,” Trump continued.
TRUMP, GOP LEADERS MEET AT WHITE HOUSE AS PRESIDENT PLANS VISIT TO NC, DEFENDS EXECUTIVE ORDERS
President Donald Trump sits for an interview with Fox Information. (Fox Information / Hannity)
FEMA got here below the nation’s microscope final yr when Hurricane Helene ripped by way of North Carolina, devastating residents because it worn out properties and companies and killed greater than 100 folks. FEMA and the Biden administration confronted fierce backlash for its dealing with of the emergency, whereas Trump accused the company of obstructing reduction efforts in Republican areas.
“The Democrats don’t care about North Carolina. What they’ve done with FEMA is so bad. FEMA is a whole ‘nother discussion, because all it does is complicate everything,” he mentioned.
TRUMP SAYS NEWSOM IS TO ‘BLAME’ FOR ‘APOCALYPTIC’ WILDFIRES
“So I’m stopping on Friday. I’m stopping in North Carolina, first stop, because those people were treated very badly by Democrats. And I’m stopping there. We’re going to get that thing straightened out because they’re still suffering from a hurricane from months ago,” Trump mentioned.
Floodwaters from Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Photographs)
Trump will go to North Carolina on Friday, his first journey as president, the place he’s anticipated to tour and meet with residents who had been left devastated by the hurricane in September. He may even go to California that very same day, the place wildfires have ripped by way of the Los Angeles space this month.
The journey is ready to spotlight what Trump has described as emergency response failures by the hands of Democratic leaders.
FAST-MOVING HUGHES FIRE ERUPTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY AS CALIFORNIA OFFICIALS ORDER EVACUATIONS
A home burns because the Palisades Hearth rages on on the Mandeville Canyon, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 11, 2025. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton )
“After which I will then I am going to go to California,” he mentioned, earlier than criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s dealing with of wildfire prevention and response. Trump has lengthy criticized the Democratic governor for prioritizing environmental insurance policies, equivalent to defending the dwindling smelt and Chinook salmon populations, and never tapping water sources within the northern a part of the state that he argued would permit higher fireplace response.
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“There is massive amounts of water, rain water and mountain water, that comes to with the snow, comes down, as it melts, there’s so much water they’re releasing it into the Pacific Ocean,” he mentioned.
