Trump is leaving even the red states behind.
After telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that he didn’t care about the economy, Trump hinted at the possibility that FEMA – a federal organization the provides aid to millions in mostly red states – may be under threat. After all, he would prefer that “states take care of their own problems.”
Republicans claim to be the party of “states rights,” but the internet is calling bulls**t.
While nothing is set in stone, Trump’s comments about FEMA certainly don’t bode well for the organization. After all, Trump spent his first days in office closing down government departments that don’t align with Republican interests. In a sweeping executive order, Trump commanded all DEI offices across multiple federal institutions to be disbanded and their workers fired.
And yet, California’s reliance on FEMA may be the thing that dooms the organization. Trump has frequently made his distaste for California’s government known. He has lambasted the states administrative practices since his first term in office, and once withheld wildfire aid from the state until he was informed that people there voted for him. As wildfires plague California with new ferocity, Trump’s menacing talk about FEMA has become cause for the internet’s alarm.
California isn’t the only place that Trump has denied disaster relief. After Puerto Rico was ravaged by Hurricane Maria, Trump made an infamous public appearance on the island, where he ambivalently lobbed cleaning supplies over the heads of people in need. The Trump administration was later revealed to have denied critical aid to Puerto Rico, with the president telling Republicans that he didn’t want the island to receive “a single dollar,” and would rather that federal money go to Texas and Florida. Now, it appears Trump may want to deny Texas and Florida, too.
As evidenced by this post, American cynicism towards the government is at an all time high – and not without reason. U.S. citizens have feared that the nation has been creeping towards oligarchy as billionaires get exponentially richer and more numerous. In his farewell address to the nation, former president Joe Biden confirmed those fears, warning Americans that “oligarchy is taking shape in America,” one that “threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedom, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.” Considering that the richest man on earth has been courting the Trump administration for some time, and has since flexed his political muscle to radically alter government affairs, American fears of Trump and “his billionaire friends” are far from unfounded.
As this user points out, Trump’s lack of support for FEMA may be all part of the plan. Though Trump publicly denied any knowledge of Project 2025 – a proposal created by a right-wing think tan to enact hyper-conservative polices across American society and government – while campaigning for president, his recent behavior signals that he is intimately acquainted with its ideas. Project 2025 sought to roll back the rights of minorities by ending DEI practices and codifying transphobia into law, to things that Trump has done while in office. It also sought deport migrants by the millions, another Trump administration policy, and reduce the influence of multiple federal agencies including FEMA. While Project 2025 doesn’t call to shutter FEMA entirely, it does suggest that the organization “stop doling out money for smaller disasters” and let states “take a more proactive role in their own preparedness and response capabilities,” just like Trump said.
If Project 2025’s policies and Trump’s own checkered history are any evidence, when it comes to disaster, the Trump administration will be disastrously unprepared.
Published: Jan 23, 2025 02:24 pm