President Donald Trump warned late Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is set to face a reckoning following four years under the Biden administration, arguing the emergency agency has “not done their job.”
“FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida. We had Alabama tornadoes. But unless you have certain types of leadership, it’s really, it gets in the way. And FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” Trump said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, his first White House interview since his inauguration.
Trump then turned his attention to the state of Oklahoma, touting that he won all 77 of the state’s counties in the 2024 election, and arguing that if the Sooner State is hit by a tornado, state leaders should take the lead on emergency response before the federal government steps in for additional assistance.
“I love Oklahoma, but you know what? If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it. … And then the federal government can help them out with the money. FEMA is getting in the way of everything, and the Democrats actually use FEMA not to help North Carolina,” Trump continued.
TRUMP, GOP LEADERS MEET AT WHITE HOUSE AS PRESIDENT PLANS VISIT TO NC, DEFENDS EXECUTIVE ORDERS
President Donald Trump sits for an interview with Fox News. (Fox News / Hannity)
FEMA came under the nation’s microscope last year when Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina, devastating residents as it wiped out homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people. FEMA and the Biden administration faced fierce backlash for its handling of the emergency, while Trump accused the agency of obstructing relief efforts in Republican areas.
“The Democrats don’t care about North Carolina. What they’ve done with FEMA is so bad. FEMA is a whole ‘nother discussion, because all it does is complicate everything,” he said.
TRUMP SAYS NEWSOM IS TO ‘BLAME’ FOR ‘APOCALYPTIC’ WILDFIRES
“So I’m stopping on Friday. I’m stopping in North Carolina, first stop, because those people were treated very badly by Democrats. And I’m stopping there. We’re going to get that thing straightened out because they’re still suffering from a hurricane from months ago,” Trump said.
Floodwaters from Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Trump will visit North Carolina on Friday, his first trip as president, where he is expected to tour and meet with residents who were left devastated by the hurricane in September. He will also visit California that same day, where wildfires have ripped through the Los Angeles area this month.
The trip is set to highlight what Trump has described as emergency response failures at the hands of Democratic leaders.
FAST-MOVING HUGHES FIRE ERUPTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY AS CALIFORNIA OFFICIALS ORDER EVACUATIONS
A house burns as the Palisades Fire rages on at the Mandeville Canyon, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 11, 2025. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton )
“And then I’m going to then I’m going to go to California,” he said, before criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s handling of wildfire prevention and response. Trump has long criticized the Democratic governor for prioritizing environmental policies, such as protecting the dwindling smelt and Chinook salmon populations, and not tapping water sources in the northern part of the state that he argued would allow better fire response.
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“There is massive amounts of water, rain water and mountain water, that comes to with the snow, comes down, as it melts, there’s so much water they’re releasing it into the Pacific Ocean,” he said.