CV NEWS FEED // Trump traveled Friday to North Carolina, then to California to meet with wildfire and storm victims and assess the performance of federal and state emergency response officials.
In North Carolina, Trump announced he may issue an executive order “fundamentally reforming and overhauling” the Federal Emergency Management Agency “or maybe even getting rid of” the agency. “FEMA has turned out to be a disaster,” he said.
As CatholicVote reported, North Carolinians praised Trump for making them the priority of his first official trip since taking office. One “shared her experience with the lack of response from FEMA, saying despite her constant efforts to get aid, the organization has not responded.”
“This happened on September 27,” she said, according to a local media outlet. “That’s four months ago. For us, today is still September 27. We haven’t had help.”
“He just became president Monday,” said another. “Now it’s Friday and he’s here.”
In California, the president and First Lady Melania Trump held a roundtable with Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and local fire officials to discuss the controversial state and municipal response to the devastating fires that have swept through Los Angeles County.
“When the president entered the room,” FOX News reported, “individuals were heard chanting ‘USA, USA, USA!’ …Trump said he would sign an executive order to open up the water valves in the area.”
“Trump said that he is going to waive federal permits for rebuilding in the area,” FOX’s report continued. “’I’m gonna be the president to help you fix it,’ he said. ‘We’re going to waive all federal permits… Because a federal permit can take 10 years… we don’t want to take 10 days.’”
Officials overseeing the response to the wildfires have faced national scrutiny and mounting accusations of incompetence and misallocation of resources since the beginning of the disaster.
As FOX News reported soon after the wildfires began, “Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong reminded followers how ‘competence matters’ regarding LA mayor Karen Bass during the ongoing Pacific Palisades fires.”
Los Angeles business owner Paul Scrivano “blasted LAFD [Los Angeles Fire Department] Chief Kristin Crowley for her ‘mismanagement’ of the fires” soon after, as CatholicVote reported at the time. “She has mismanaged this department with her DEI initiative to the point where I think the LAFD is in an irrecoverable spin and will never be brought back.”
“He explained that Crowley, Democratic California Gov. Newsom, and Democratic Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath ‘lied when they said there was pre-deployment for this fire,’” CatholicVote’s report added.
At Friday’s roundtable, Trump expressed empathy for victims and astonishment at the extent of the damage. “I don’t think you can realize how rough, how devastating it is until you see it,” he said.
“But I just want to commiserate,” he added later. “And we’re gonna celebrate, we’ll be celebrating again soon. The federal government is standing behind you 100%.”