“I had FEMA functioning very well,” Trump said during an exclusive interview with Sean Hannity.
President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will face consequences after four years under the Biden administration, accusing the agency of failing to do its job.
“FEMA hasn’t done its job for the last four years,” Trump said during an exclusive interview. “I had FEMA working really well. We handled hurricanes in Florida and tornadoes in Alabama, but without the right leadership, it just gets in the way. FEMA is going to be a big topic soon, because I’d rather see the states handle their own issues.”
Trump went on to highlight his 2024 victory in Oklahoma, stating that if the state were hit by a tornado, state officials should take the lead on emergency response, with the federal government stepping in only when needed.
“I love Oklahoma, but you know what? If they get hit by a tornado, let Oklahoma take care of it… then the federal government can help with the money. FEMA is in the way, and the Democrats use FEMA to not help places like North Carolina,” he added.
FEMA faced scrutiny after Hurricane Helene struck North Carolina last year, leaving destruction in its wake and killing over 100 people. Both FEMA and the Biden administration received heavy criticism for their response, 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 disastrous. FEMA is a whole other issue—it only complicates everything,” Trump said.
Trump also announced plans to visit North Carolina and California on Friday, where he will meet with residents affected by the hurricane and wildfires, respectively. The visits will underscore his criticism of emergency response failures under Democratic leadership.
“I’m going to stop in North Carolina first, because those people were treated very badly by the Democrats. We’re going to fix that. They’re still suffering from a hurricane months ago,” Trump said.
He also took aim at California Governor Gavin Newsom’s handling of wildfires, blaming the Democratic leader for focusing on environmental issues at the expense of addressing fire response needs.
“There’s massive amounts of water—rainwater and mountain water—that’s being released into the Pacific Ocean instead of being used to fight fires,” Trump argued.
