Jaw Dropping: Trump Talks About Disaster Relief for ‘Republican Areas’

We know that there is very little that Donald Trump won’t do to turn an issue to his advantage. But few things are more dangerous than tossing politics into an area already reeling from a true natural disaster – especially when the assertion comes from a former president. Hurricane Helene viciously tore through Florida, Georgia, and then North Carolina. The death toll is already 125 and the property damage will likely never be fully accounted. But Donald Trump wants to play politics even prior to the funerals, never mind rebuilding.

The former president says that disaster relief is being withheld from “Republican areas,” and he does so without evidence. According to The AP:

Trump claimed without evidence Monday that the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic governor were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”

Of course, it’s a lie. Indeed, the record from hurricanes in Florida alone shows that the Biden administration doesn’t see these matters in red or blue, they see it as impacting the nation as a whole. Disaster relief has already been set up and can be accessed by people in Florida, Georgia, and both North and South Carolina. There is nothing discriminating between rural-urban, white-black, red or blue. Nothing.

But Donald Trump can use it as a throwaway line and most of his supporters will believe it. HE was the one who nearly didn’t send disaster aid to California because “they will never vote for me.” And, even more unforgivably, he slow-walked aid to Puerto Rico, per the AP:

As president, Trump delayed disaster aid for hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico and diverted money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to finance an effort to return undocumented migrants to Mexico. And Project 2025, backed by Trump supporters, would restructure FEMA to limit aid to states and says that the National Weather Service, which provides crucial data on hurricanes and other storms, “should be broken up and downsized.”

So the people who work to assure us that triple digit fatalities are not four to five digit losses should now be downsized? Any accountant would tell you that the government (Or the citizens themselves) will pay far more over the long run if the forecasts are less accurate and we should beef-up infrastructure beforehand.

But this is what conservatives do, never spending a dollar in order to save two. And again, it is Donald Trump who has used politics to bestow his favors or condition them – ask Ukraine. We have a man who wants to be king, owning the country for his own sake and grievances. This is horrific going into a possible second term.

It actually gets worse, Trump then issued a second lie that is just as dangerous and again, directed at the swing states, in this case – Georgia:

Trump also suggested Monday that Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp had been unable to get in touch with Biden regarding relief. But Kemp told reporters that he spoke with Biden the day before and that the president said to “call him directly” if the state has additional needs. “I appreciate that,” said Kemp.

So the Trump-supporting governor Brian Kemp has to go out of his way to correct Trump and say that President Biden is very much involved, up to saying “Contact me directly” – the president to governor. Then Kemp must say that he appreciated Biden’s assertions. But compared to Trump’s statement, few will even hear the correction. Trump followers believe Trump and rarely hear the correction, or care.

But even this isn’t the real threat. The real threat is that Trump will use this as a springboard to leave Democratic states and those who who don’t vote for him out from all disaster relief. Again, this is the king’s chest of treasure and so you best have good relations with the king or live in peril.

I looked at the latest polls from swing states this morning. Trump enjoys leads in Arizona and Georgia such that one should probably write them off at this point. Michigan and Wisconsin look fine. The election will come down to Pennsylvania and North Carolina which are 50-50. As much as we enjoy Kamala Harris’s trends, the race is still likely Trump’s to lose.

This is reality. We could be going right back into a situation where even multi-state hurricanes that leave 100s dead will be used to further divide the country by political boundaries. If there was ever a time to get out and vote while also preparing yourself for any outcome, it is now.

It is very hard to believe that the country that came together to build the interstates and go to the moon is now dividing “Democratic areas” from “Republican areas” when it comes to ravaging hurricanes.

God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected]