Throughout hurricane season last year, Donald Trump and others pushed endless conspiracy theories about how the Biden administration was failing to provide adequate relief and aid to disaster-stricken areas in red states. It wasn’t true. They claimed that the $750 Serious Needs Assistance checks people were getting in order to help them get groceries, baby food and other emergency needs were the only assistance they would be getting at all, even if they lost their homes. This was not true. Some claimed that instead of using those FEMA funds to help American citizens affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, President Biden used it to house undocumented immigrants. This was also untrue.
Some, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, suggested that they used their magic weather controlling technology to purposely target red states in the south. You know, because who ever heard of southern states being affected by hurricanes before then, huh?
They claimed that “they” were blocking rescuers, blocking private planes from taking people out of state, partly because they just hated Republicans, partly to keep them from voting (which, because of the electoral college, would likely not have had an effect unless the entire state abstained).
In reality, the administration provided $441 million to Helene survivors, and $349 million to support and rebuild communities affected by the hurricane.
If we were more conspiracy-minded, we might have speculated that the reason they were saying these things was because this was exactly what Donald Trump intended to do himself. As it turns out, we would have been absolutely correct.
Speaking to the press this week about his “big, beautiful bill” — because he thinks people will just go along with his adjectives — Trump proudly shared that “We don’t want to benefit Democrat[sic] governors.”
Take a moment and imagine a Democrat saying this, in any context. The tears that would flow! I mean, we are talking about people who are still reeling over “basket of deplorables.” They’d never let that go.
"We want to help all the states, but we have governors that are from the Democrat [sic] party, let's say New York, Illinois, big ones, and let's say Gavin 'Newscum,' who's done a horrible job in California."
Gavin Newsom has spent the last few months kissing MAGA ass, throwing trans people under the bus, desperately hoping for a crossover hit. So far, that doesn’t seem to be going especially well for him.
"We want to benefit Republicans. They are the ones that are going to make America great again," he added. "The Democrats are destroying our country."
Again, the sobs we would hear from the Right if any politician on the Left said anything like that. Their self-esteem is very delicate, you know.
But here’s the irony — Trump isn’t helping Republican governors or Republican states either. His former press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, now governor of Arkansas, has been begging him for disaster aid ever since the state was struck with 14 tornadoes recently. Homes and businesses were destroyed, three people were killed, more were injured, and Arkansas needed help.
What normally happens in these scenarios is that the governor asks the federal government for help (as Sanders did), and then they issue a disaster declaration, which then allows the state (or states) affected to get FEMA grants to fix things back up.
But that didn’t happen.
However, on April 11, Sanders got a letter back from the Trump administration saying that they had “determined that the damage from this event was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies.”
Sanders has, since, continued to beg her old boss for help, which has not been given.
“Arkansas communities are still recovering from this spring’s tornadoes, as the sheer magnitude of this event resulted in overwhelming amounts of debris, widespread destruction to homes and businesses, the tragic loss of three lives, and injuries to many others,” Sanders said in a statement. “To relieve the burden on these counties, cities, and towns, I am appealing FEMA’s decision to deny Arkansas’ Major Disaster Declaration request.”
She has not heard back.
Similarly, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley asked DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a hearing for the Senate Homeland Security Committee if she could pretty please see her way to getting Missouri some disaster relief as well, from all their storms and tornadoes.
“The state has pending three requests for major disaster declarations from earlier storms we’ve lost over a dozen people. Well, actually, if you count the folks we lost just on Friday, we’ve lost almost 20 people now in major storms just in the last two months in Missouri,” Hawley explained.
“Will you commit to helping, for those three major disaster declaration requests that are pending, will you expedite those, Secretary Noem, and get those in front of the president, get those approved?” Hawley asked. “We are desperate for the assistance in Missouri.”
Noem said that she would, though it’s hardly as if “getting them in front of the president” would matter. They’ve probably been there already.
Mississippi, the reddest of red states, is also waiting on its major disaster declaration requests, which have also gone ignored by the Trump administration.
To be fair, I’m sure Trump just has a different idea of what it means to help these red states out. Have they even tried to ask him for funds with which to build a large 24 karat gold giant statue of him at their capital? Because surely he’d be able to round up some cash for something like that. Or perhaps they could include such an idea in their disaster requests? Or even just promise to throw a big parade for him upon receipt of the funds. Or just mention how handsome and manly he’s looking these days. Compliment him on his new invisible outfit.
To paraphrase Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s uncle he never mentions, “Ask not what Donald Trump can do for your state, ask what kind of creepy dictator propaganda nonsense would make him feel most appreciated and loved.”
That’s almost as good as disaster relief, right?
PREVIOUSLY ON WONKETTE!
Armed militias in North Carolina threatened FEMA workers so badly in the wake of Hurricane Helene that the government had to withdraw emergency responders for their own safety. And now the same MAGA chuds are crying "whar disaster relief?"
People might have wanted to think through the ramifications of putting somebody who set up a phony cancer charity in order to enrich himself in charge of humanitarian aid.