Just days after Donald Trumpbaselessly accused Democrats in the federal government and North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, of “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas” following Hurricane Helene, a report in Politico’s E&E News found that it was Trump who played politics amid California wildfires in 2018 by holding up aid until he learned that the affected areas were Republican-leaning. Mark Harvey, Trump’s Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council Staff, told the outlet that Trump ultimately approved that aid—but only after he was shown voting data from residents. “We 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,” said Harvey, whose recollection was confirmed by Olivia Troy, then Homeland Security Adviser. Trump’s warped response to natural disasters as president occurred the year prior, as well. His administration blocked nearly $20 billion in relief after Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico, and White House officials obstructed the subsequent watchdog investigation into the matter, according to a 2021 report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General. On top of that, Trump denied that thousands died as a result of that hurricane.
