In his first television interview since being sworn in for a second term, President Donald Trump raised eyebrows by floating the idea of dismantling FEMA, the federal agency responsible for disaster response, and threatened to withhold disaster aid from states led by Democrats if they don’t support his mass deportation agenda.
During the interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday, Trump zeroed in on California, saying he didn’t think the federal government should provide aid to help the state recover from devastating wildfires unless Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom reverses sanctuary policies that limit state and local cooperation with immigration enforcement.
Trump argued that Newsom had mismanaged the state’s water resources—especially concerning the ongoing drought—and had failed to properly manage forests, exacerbating the wildfire crisis. “I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down into there just from the north to the south,” Trump said.
The president also revisited unsubstantiated claims about the Biden administration’s handling of disaster relief, accusing FEMA of failing North Carolina after the state was hit by two hurricanes last year. “The Democrats don’t care about North Carolina. What they’ve done with FEMA is so bad. FEMA is a whole other discussion, because all it does is complicate everything,” Trump said. “FEMA has not done their job for the last four years,” he added, claiming the agency functioned well only under his administration.
Trump went on to suggest eliminating FEMA altogether, proposing that states handle their own disaster response. “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,” he said, criticizing the agency’s involvement and once again taking a swipe at Democrats. “The Democrats actually use FEMA not to help North Carolina. It makes no sense,” he added, bragging about his election wins in Oklahoma counties.
Watch the clips below:
Trump: "FEMA is gonna be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I'd rather see the states takes care of their own problems." pic.twitter.com/wiwRCeqSMc
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Trump: "I don't think we should give California anything until they let water flow down." pic.twitter.com/uokR0CuK75
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
