Trump promises help for disaster zones

Meets with officials, hears stories of survival

By: Bart Jansen
and Zac Anderson
USA Today

..... President Donald Trump spent Friday [01/24/2025] on a coast-to-coast tour of disaster zones, musing about abolishing the Federal emergency Management Agency and conditioning California fire recovery aid on voting law changes.
..... Trump traveled from Washington to Asheville, North Carolina, and visited communities in the western part of the state affected by severe flooding form hurricane Helen last year. [2024]
..... He then flew to Los Angeles and toured damage from devastation wildfires in the region, which are ongoing.
..... Trump met with governors in both states, local officials, emergency responders and property owners in his first official trip as president.

Making nice with Newsom

..... The relationship between the GOP president and California Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, has often been contentious.
..... Trump likes to refer to Nesom as "Newscum" in soc la media posts.
..... They set those animosities aside Friday [01/24/2025] as both men grapple with one of the nation's worst natural disasters in memory.
..... Newsom waited for Trump at the bottom of the stairs from Air Force One in Los Angeles.
..... They embraced and spoke to the media together.
..... "We're gonna need your support, we're gonna need your help," Newsom said. "You were there for us during COVID, I don't forget that, and I have all the expectations that we'll be able to work together."
...... "We'll gonna get it done," Trump responded, adding: We'll get it worked out, OK?"
...... Trump noted that California will need a lot of federal help , Newsom agreed.
..... "We're gonna take care of things," Trump said.

Abolishing FEMA, aid conditions

..... The president ratcheted up his criticism of FEMA with a suggestion to possible abolish the agency because of tis response to Hurricane Helen in September. [2024]
..... "I'll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA or maybe even getting rid of FEMA," Trump said after a briefing in Fletcher, North Carlina. "Frankly, FEMA's not good.
..... Trump accused FEMA crews of being unfamiliar with ares when responding to disasters. he also claimed FEMAi tempoes rules and requirements on crews that aren't as god as what local officials provide. The federal government should instead send funding to governors to manage their own response to disaster, he said.
..... "FEMA has turned out to be a distaste," Trump said. "I think we're going to recommend that FEMA go away and we pay directly - we pay a percentage to the states."
..... After speaking with flood evictions in Swannanoa, North Carolina, Trump later added "if it was up to me right now, I;d end it right now."
..... The president also called for California to adopt voter ID rules ensuring voters' citizenship to receive disaster aid for the fires around Los Angles. He also repeated his complaint that the state should divert funding form the Sacramento-Sam Joaquin delta to fight fires.
..... Trump didn't invite Senator Adam Schiff, D-California, a frequent critic of his, to join his trip. Schiff said changes to the Environmental Protection Agency and FEMA could result form bipartisan cooperation. But he urged Trump not to attach strings to disaster aid.
..... "We've never done that when it comes to our fellow citizens who are hurting," Schiff told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

'Horrific' tales of floods

..... Survivors of Hurricane Helen describe their harrowing escapes form rising floodwaters to Trump on Friday [01/24/2025] and pleaded for help four months after the disaster.
..... Thomas Bright spent four hours of the roof of his home in east Asheville that had been in his family for 80 years and four generations. He wrote farewell notes on his cellphone to his two children and his two grandchildren as his garage and other debris floated past.
..... "We didn't think we were going to make it at all," Bright said. "We were watching houses, trailers, bodies coming by us."
..... Mona Nix-Roper, who lives in the Fairview area, said her home became like an island as floodwaters rose aorta it. As she hiked out with her son, they saw a neighbor's body hat had turned blue in the water.
..... "Horrific is just all I can say," Nix-Roper said. "There were people out everywhere looking for their loved ones. and there were dead bodies. My son's like, 'Mom, you're going to see things you don't want to see."

Fast-track permitting to rebuild

..... Trump met with local officials in California after touring fire damage in Pacific Palisades on Friday [01/24/2025] and asked them to speed up permitting for people who want to rebuild.
..... Trump said he plans to waive or drastically speed up federal permitting in the wake of the fires, adding "the local, I hope, is going to do the same exact thing."
..... Members of the California congressional delegation, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other local leaders joined Trump at the meeting, sharing their thoughts om fire recovery efforts.
..... The president said he heard form homeowners worried about how long it could take to rebuild.
..... "We are 100% committed to getting this neighborhood rebuilt again," Bass said.
..... Trump said permitting should take days. "A federal permit can take 10 years" we're not going to do that," Trump said.
..... "We don't want to take 10 days."
..... Officials need to be mindful of "hazardous waste," Bass said, but added that if people are rebuilding "essentially the same ... they really shouldn't have to go through much of a process."
..... Other people brought up insurance issues that homeowners are facing. Trump also repeatedly raised question about water management policis in California.

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