Former officials in Donald Trump's White House have dropped new bombshell claims that the previous president wanted to withhold federal disaster aid in states that were not Republican-leaning during his time as commander in chief.
Mark Harvey, a senior director on Trump's National Security Council staff, and Olivia Troye, the former homeland security adviser to Mike Pence, spoke to Politico’s E&E News and alleged that there are at least three occasions where Trump played politics and deliberately delayed disaster relief as president.
In one shocking instance — during the deadly California wildfires in 2018 — Harvey claims that Trump initially refused to approve disaster aid because the state is historically Democratic. Harvey alleges that the then-president only changed his mind after staff made the case that Orange County, where fire was spreading, largely supported Trump.
“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 said — a story corroborated by Troye.
Troye alleges that Trump refused to sign documents approving aid as president, despite pleas from local politicians, leading her to repeatedly call on Pence to step in.
She warned that if Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, she believes he will continue to approach disaster relief through a political lens — a conversation that's particularly relevant as eyes turn to recovery efforts in southern states devastated by Hurricane Helene in late September.
"It’s not going to be about that American voter out there who isn’t even really paying attention to politics, and their house is gone, and the president of the United States is judging them for how they voted, and they didn’t even vote," Troye said.
Harvey added, "There’s no empathy for the survivors. It is all about getting your photo-op, right? Disaster theater to make him look good."
The warnings from Harvey and Troye, who have both endorsed Kamala Harris in the presidential election, come while Trump spreads lies about the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.
On Sept. 30, the former president claimed without evidence that the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic governor were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”
Trump also falsely claimed that President Joe Biden was dodging calls from Georgia's Republican governor amid the storm, which the governor himself debunked.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre shut down the remarks, noting that officials have rescued and supported more than 1,400 people impacted by the deadly storm.
"It doesn’t matter which state it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s a red state or blue state," she said. "This is their job — to get food there, to get generators there, to save some lives, to rescue people. And so we are very proud of the work that they’ve done."
ihatemakinthese on October 4th, 2024 at 10:55 UTC »
Trump also did nothing about covid because he believed it would just hurt larger democrat cities. He also made state governors fight over supplies including requiring a democrat gov to go on air and compliment him to get the lung machines. Trump is a vile pos.
Edited for spelling
Also editing to recommend the documentary “Totally Under Control”, it’s an investigative look at the response of the Trump administration during covid. It also did not feel super partisan and should be watched by everyone.
love_is_an_action on October 4th, 2024 at 10:22 UTC »
Yeah, this is the same administration that directed federal authorities to literally seize PPE and other medical supplies from the states of California, Massachusetts, Colorado and Washington to "add to federal stockpiles" during the early Covid response.
He didn't just want to resist aid to states he didn't like, he wanted to fucking rob and murder their citizens.
baquir on October 4th, 2024 at 10:04 UTC »
What a waste of a human being. Everything is transactional for him.
Jews are horrible… unless they vote for me
Debates are useless… unless I win them
Endorsements don’t make a difference… unless it’s for me.
The polls are fake… unless I am ahead.
The election is rigged... unless I win.
The news is fake... unless it’s flattering.
Everything’s a hoax... unless I tweet it.
Nepotism is bad... unless it’s my family.
I’m rich... but you can’t see my taxes.
I’m smart... but you can’t see my grades.
I’m a patriot... but I dodged the draft.
I’m successful... but my businesses fail.
My staff is the best... until I fire them.
I’m innocent... but the prosecutors and courts are corrupt, unless they support me.