Speaking to reporters as he arrived in Asheville, North Carolina on Friday, President Donald Trump expressed his desire to eliminate FEMA, which stands for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Trump bashed FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene that devastated North Carolina in 2024. Trump also said that states should be responsible for addressing such disasters instead of relying on FEMA.
“I like, frankly, the concept [that] when North Carolina gets hit, the governor takes care of it. When Florida gets hit, the governor takes care of it, meaning the state takes care of it,” Trump said, CNBC reported. “To have a group of people come in from an area that don’t even know where they’re going, in order to solve immediately a problem is something that never worked for me.”
Trump suggested that North Carolina and California should receive additional aid from the federal government instead of going through FEMA. According to CNBC, similar ideas are outlined in the controversial Project 2025 report, which Trump has denied being part of.
“We’re going to get you the resources you need and the support you deserve,” Trump said in Asheville.
Former president Joe Biden, who has been heavily criticized by Trump over his response to natural disasters, approved over $2.7 billion to FEMA on Nov. 5.
Trump also bashed California Governor Gavin Newsom for the way he’s handling the wildfires erupting across Los Angeles. Per Axios, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that California shouldn’t get any federal aid “until they let water flow down into their system.”
