The responsibility for managing natural disasters might fall heavily on the states, rather than receiving support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday.
“All it does is make everything more complex,” Trump remarked about the agency during a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity at the Oval Office.
This topic emerged while discussing the wildfires in Los Angeles, where Trump erroneously asserted that Democrats seek federal funding for that area, yet “they don’t care about North Carolina” after Hurricane Helene struck last September.
Trump, who previously claimed that FEMA mishandled funds intended for relief in that state by allocating them to migrants, reiterated similar allegations on Wednesday.
“What they have done with FEMA is really terrible,” he expressed to Hannity.
“FEMA is a separate issue, because all it does is complicate matters. For the last four years, FEMA has failed to do its job,” he added. “I had them functioning quite well. We faced hurricanes in Florida, and there were tornadoes in Alabama, but without the right kind of leadership, it can really hinder efforts.”
Earlier that same day, Trump allegedly appointed Cameron Hamilton as the acting FEMA administrator; Hamilton is a former Navy SEAL who, according to The New York Times, seemingly lacks any relevant experience in managing disaster response.
“FEMA is going to become a major talking point soon because I would prefer states to manage their own issues,” Trump said, indicating significant changes might be on the horizon.
For instance, Trump pointed to Oklahoma, a strong Republican state, as an area that would not have FEMA’s assistance during a natural disaster. This state is often included in what is referred to as “Tornado Alley,” along with Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa—each of which has supported Trump in every election since 2016, with the exception of Nebraska’s second congressional district.
“Oklahoma is quite capable…If they face a tornado or something similar, let Oklahoma handle it. There’s no need—then the federal government can offer financial assistance afterward. FEMA just obstructs everything, and the Democrats actually utilized FEMA to neglect North Carolina,” Trump stated.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was implying that FEMA should provide loans to the states or directly finance rebuilding initiatives, which is already part of its mandate.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung did not respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comments.
Trump is set to visit North Carolina on Friday to review the recovery efforts post-Hurricane Helene. While Trump was publicly criticizing FEMA in the aftermath of the hurricane, employees of the agency were compelled to evacuate certain sites in the state due to an armed individual being arrested for reportedly making threats against them.
However, Trump appeared unconcerned about that situation.
