Donald Trump Threatens to Deny California Federal Disaster Aid as President If They Don’t Do What He Asks

Mar. 15, 2025

Donald Trump on Oct. 12, 2024.Photo:AP Photo/Alex Brandon

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Donald Trumpis threatening to withhold fire-fighting aid from California.

The former president, 78, addressed rally-goers in Coachella, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 12, stating that if elected, he would deny federal disaster aid to the state unless GovernorGavin Newsomcomplies with his demands.

“We’re going to take care of our farmers, we’re going to take care of your water situation and we’ll force it down his throat and we’ll say, ‘Gavin if you don’t do it we’re not giving you any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the forest fires that you have’,” Trump declared at the rally, according toThe Independentand clips of the event posted on social media.

He added, “It’s not hard to do.”

This remark follows Trump’s recent false claim that PresidentJoe Bidendirected federal disaster funds to migrants rather than to North Carolina and Georgia duringHurricane Helene.

“It’s profound and it is the height of irresponsibility, and frankly callousness,” Vice PresidentKamala Harrissaid onThe Viewearlier this month when asked about Trump’s claims regarding Biden, 81.

“Lives are literally at stake right now," Harris, 59, continued. “I fear that he really lacks empathy on a very basic level, to care about the suffering of other people and then to understand the role of a leader is not to beat people down — it’s to lift people up, especially in a time of crisis.”

From Left: Kamala Harris; and Donald Trump.SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty; Grant Baldwin/Getty

SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty; Grant Baldwin/Getty

Speaking toPolitico’s E&E News, Mark Harvey, a senior director on Trump’s National Security Council staff, andOlivia Troye, the former homeland security adviser toMike Pence, alleged that there are at least three occasions where Trump played politics and deliberately delayed disaster relief as president.

Donald Trump on Oct. 12, 2024.Mario Tama/Getty

Mario Tama/Getty

Troye warned that if Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, he will likely continue to view disaster relief through a political lens. “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.”

source: people.com