BACKLASH?

Report: ‘America First’ May Thwart Global Help on Harvey

Analysts say foreign leaders seem more reluctant to offer aid than in previous disasters.

The lackluster lineup of foreign countries offering to help the U.S. recover from Hurricane Harvey’s devastating floods may be one unintended consequence of President Trump’s emphasis on “America First” policies, analysts said Thursday. Only a handful of countries have offered a helping hand, including Mexico, Taiwan, and even cash-strapped Venezuela, according to Politico. The European Union has also offered to share its satellite mapping with U.S. emergency responders. But analysts say that unlike the response following Hurricane Katrina, most of the countries reaching out this time stand to gain political points for the move. “Foreign governments are holding back, and that hasn’t been the case historically,” Markos Kounalakis, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, told Politico. Moira Whelan, a former State Department official in the Obama administration, said the amount of vacant positions at State may also be a factor. “The lack of meaningful relationships with individuals in the administration” may be hampering foreign attempts to help, Whelan said.