President Trump is considering letting US states handle their own disasters

Washington DC:

US President Donald Trump, in his first Oval Office interview since returning to power, on Wednesday talked about ending federal disaster relief and leaving states to fend for themselves during emergencies.

With Los Angeles ravaged by wildfires and the eastern United States still recovering from two devastating hurricanes, Trump falsely accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of turning its back on the victims.

Trump told Fox News, “FEMA has not done its job for the last four years. You know, I have FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida, we had tornadoes in Alabama. “

“But unless you have some type of leadership, it gets in the way. And FEMA is going to be a big discussion very soon, because I want states to take care of their own problems.”

Trump’s comments came as an explosive new wildfire raged north of Los Angeles, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes and causing panic in a region still reeling from two deadly fires. Is.

Trump and Republicans in Congress have said that help for California should be based on the actions of the state’s Democratic leaders, although they made no suggestion that the storm would kill more than 100 people and destroy much of the US South. There had been devastating floods in the past.

Trump’s freewheeling press conferences and interviews distinguish him from previous presidents, particularly Joe Biden, who almost never agreed to sit down for extended conversations with reporters.

The Republican was praised during his campaign for embracing podcasts, YouTube and other new media, but he bucked tradition for a pre-taped primetime appearance, sitting down with Fox News star and staunch loyalist Sean Hannity.

Trump, who has more than a dozen former Fox News staffers in his administration, discussed his executive orders and his plans for the first 100 days — the third consecutive day he spoke directly to the press.

But while the Republican president gets credit for being more accessible to the press, it’s not clear the American public is hanging on every word.

According to The New York Times, the number of TV viewers watching his second inaugural address was significantly lower than in previous years, with a maximum of 34.4 million people watching – four million fewer than his first inaugural address.

Hannity – an uncredited mouthpiece for Republican talking points, known as Trump’s “unofficial chief of staff” – is the highest-rated cable show for the 9:00 p.m. hour, drawing an average of 2.8 million viewers. .

Trump again defended his blanket pardon for hundreds of violent criminals who stormed the Capitol in 2021, dismissing security concerns over the Chinese-owned app TikTok and the possibility of cutting federal funding for so-called “sanctuary cities.” Discussed, which protects undocumented immigrants from federal. Custody requests.