Donald Trump and his allies have been misinforming the public about the federal response to Hurricane Helene, be it with lies or conspiracy theories.
Trump’s first administration was a disaster for our environment—but he and his friends are far from done. Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s agenda for a potential second Trump administration, includes dismantling the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency—the U.S. agency that forecasts weather—and greatly limiting the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s ability to respond.
Here are some examples of how poorly the Trump administration managed our country’s toughest times.
Trump didn’t staff the federal agencies tasked with disaster response.
Trump’s administration did not sufficiently staff FEMA or NOAA with administrators for months after he came into office. Worse, he imposed a government-wide hiring freeze that affected hundreds of unfilled positions at the National Weather Service, and that was called “a contributing factor” in a renewed decline in NOAA staff.
Trump initially refused to send aid to California during wildfires because it was a blue state.
When wildfires ravaged California in 2018, Trump attacked the state for its “mismanagement” of the fires. Meanwhile, a former senior director on Trump’s National Security Council staff told E&E News that when Trump resisted sending wildfire assistance to the Golden State, staffers “went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas … to show him these are people who voted for you.”
Trump delayed and obstructed getting federal aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
The Trump administration’s initial neglect in helping Puerto Rico was outshined only by his administration’s continued delays in congressionally allotted aid for years after. At every step, Trump looked to block further aid to the U.S. territory. Trump also reportedly joked about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland as he faced criticism for his response to Hurricane Maria.
Hurricane Dorian and the infamous black Sharpie marker.
In 2019, during the leadup to Hurricane Dorian, Trump made an incorrect assessment that the state of Alabama was in the projected path of the approaching storm. His assessment was then corrected by the National Weather Service office in Birmingham, leading Trump to double down on being wrong. Eventually, he held a press conference where he showed a conspicuously doctored map of Dorian’s path to support his lie. The sloppy use of black marker on the map became emblematic of how unserious Trump’s approach to disaster was.
Trump uses flooding in Michigan to try and stop absentee voting.
When flooding hit Michigan in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump tweeted out a threat to withhold federal aid if absentee ballots were sent out to voters ahead of the 2020 primary and general elections. Of course, the only thing being sent out at the time were applications for absentee ballots.
COVID-19.
Research finds that Trump’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic led to hundreds of thousands of excess deaths. His incompetence began early on as he downplayed the severity and spread of the global pandemic. He then offered up a barrage of fake cures and other misinformation, from shilling for the ineffective hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin to disinfecting the blood with something like Clorox.
Trump's history of (mis)managing disasters is pretty craven, and his lies about the current administration’s management of this newest natural disaster are a true new low for that lowlife.
On the other hand, here is an example of leadership.
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