Trump proposes to “get rid of Fema” during his tour in the disaster areas

Los Angeles (AP) – President Donald Trump studied the disaster areas of California and Carolina from the North on Friday and said that he was considering “getting rid” of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offering the last sign of the way he envisages radical changes to the ‘Central organization of the country to respond to disasters.

Instead of bringing federal financial assistance through FEMA, the Republican President said Washington could provide money directly to states. He made these comments during a visit North CarolinaWho is still recovering months after Hurgagan Hélène, during the first trip of her second term.

“FEMA was a very great disappointment,” said the Republican president. “It’s very bureaucratic. And it’s very slow.

Trump said Michael Whatley, from North Carolina and Chairman of the National Republican Committee, would help coordinate recovery efforts in the state, where the frustrations aroused by the federal response persist. Although Whatley does not occupy an official position in the government, Trump said that he would be “very in command”.

If the president underlined his desire to help the North Carolina, a battlefield state which voted for him in all his presidential campaigns, he was much less generous towards California, where he came. ravaged by a forest fire Los Angeles later during the day.

Trump was greeted by California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Trump critic that the president frequently disparages. The duo discussed kindly and began to cooperate despite their bitter history.

“We are going to need your support. We are going to need your help, “Newsom told Trump. “You were there for us during the Cavid. I do not forget it and I hope that we can work together for a speedy recovery.

Newsom has has already praised Trump When you are looking for help from the federal government. During the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, he called Trump as “thoughtful” and “collaborative”.

Trump flew over several devastated districts aboard the Navy One, the presidential helicopter, before landing in Pacific Palisades, a Hardly affected community which houses some of the rich and famous southern California. Accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, he traveled a street where all the houses burned, chatting with residents and police.

He had to receive a briefing on fires, who are in progresswith thousands of people under evacuation order.

Trump’s short but friendly interaction with Newsom denied the conflict position he reported towards California throughout the day. Even on the plane on the way to Los Angeles, the press secretary of the White House, Karoline Leavitt, used Trump’s derogatory nickname for the governor, “Newscum”, and said to journalists “that he had wrong residents of his state ”and said Trump was visiting to put Pressure on Newsom. and other officials “to do good towards their citizens”.

Before leaving the North Carolina, Trump reiterated that he wanted to obtain state dealerships led by Democrats in exchange for aid in the event of a disaster, in particular changes in water policies and requirements according to which voters must present an identity document when they vote.

Beyond Trump’s criticism of FEMA, he suggested limiting the role of the federal government in the response to disasters, echoing the comments of its conservative allies who proposed to reduce funding and responsibility.

“I would like to see the States dealing with disasters,” he said after landing in the Asheville region. “Let the state take care of tornadoes, hurricanes and everything that happens. »»

Trump said it would be faster and cheaper than sending FEMA.

“Fema simply did not do its job,” said the president. “We examine the entire concept of FEMA.”

The agency helps to answer To disasters when local leaders ask for an emergency presidential declaration, a sign that the damage exceeds the state’s capacity to manage alone. FEMA can reimburse governments for recovery efforts such as debris removal, and it grants provisional financial assistance to individual residents.

Asset criticized former president Joe Biden For the response of her administration to Hélène in North Carolina. While leaving the White House on Friday morning, he told journalists that “the way it could get worse” since the storm struck in September was a horrible thing, and “we are going to repair it”.

After a briefing on recovery efforts, Trump went to a small town outside Asheville to meet residents helped by Samaritan’s Purse, a humanitarian organization led by the evangelical leader Franklin Graham. The inhabitants told him that they had waded into the water until the waist to escape from their home, while fearing for their lives. Some have fought with insurance companies so that their losses are covered.

“We came to North Carolina with a simple message,” said Trump. “You are no longer forgotten. You were very badly treated by the previous administration.

FEMA has distributed $ 319 million in financial aid to residents, but that did not alleviate the feeling of abandonment of residents who fight to rebuild their lives.

Laurie Carpenter, a 62 -year -old retiree living in Newland, North Carolina, said that there were still debris and trash scattered in her part of the state. She was impatiently awaiting Trump’s visit because she was disappointed with the federal response.

“If someone wants to do something, I think they will,” said Carpenter.

Sarah Wells Rolland, 65, whose Asheville pottery workshop was destroyed by floods, is less enthusiastic. Her city is rather democratic and she fears that Trump will not give priority to his reconstruction.

“I am not really optimistic about the fact that the Trump administration does anything in the long term,” she said.

Trump has filled Californian leaders with contempt for water policies that He falsely asserted has worsened recent fires. He said that he “would examine a fire that could have been turned off if they had let the water run, but they did not let the water run”.

Congress members will be present at the briefing and the meeting could prove controversial. Trump suggested using federal aid in the event of a disaster as an exchange currency during independent legislative negotiations on government loans, or as a lever to persuade California to modify its water policy.

“Doing politics with people’s livelihoods is unacceptable and is a slap for the victims of forest fires in southern California and for our courageous first stakeholders,” said representative Young Kim, republican of the county of Orange, south of Los Angeles, in a recent press release.

Trump focused on Water policies in Californiain particular the storage efforts of the fish in the northern part of the state.

“I don’t think we should give anything to California until it lets the water flow,” Trump said in an interview with Sean Hannity from Fox News Channel.

Michael Coen, who was chief of staff to FEMA under the Biden administration, said Trump had been “poorly informed” on an agency that provides crucial aid to the states when they are overwhelmed by a disaster.

In addition, Coen criticized the idea of ​​attaching conditions to help.

“You are going to choose the winners and the losers according to the communities which will be supported by the federal government,” he said. “I think the Americans expect the federal government to be there for them in their worst days, no matter where they live.”

Trump has appointed Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy Seal with limited experience in the management of natural disasters, as acting director of FEMA.

Before leaving his duties, Biden promised that the federal government would cover all costs related to the response to forest fires around Los Angeles, which could end up being the The most expensive natural disasters in the history of the United States. However, this promise will not be held unless the congress provides more funding.

Friday’s trip could arouse uncomfortable discussions on climate change, which Trump has minimized and denied. Hélène and Los Angeles forest fires were exacerbated by global warming.

In the case of Hélène, a study carried out by international climatologists of the World Weather attribution revealed that climate change increased storm precipitation by 10 %. In California, the state has suffered A record fall and dry winter – its traditional rainy season – which has returned the area around Los Angeles more vulnerable to fires.

“This only breaks our comfort zone of what is supposed to be normal,” said Amanda Stasiewicz, researcher at the University of Oregon.

After going to North Carolina and California, Trump plans to organize a rally on Saturday in Las Vegas.

___ The editors of Associated Press Stephen Groves, Seth Borenstein and Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to this report.