On Friday, a wildfire relief package crossed the president’s desk and he rejected it, only to reverse his decision hours later. The Washington Post claims initially, FEMA officials claimed the wildfires did not meet the criteria for federal relief. Trump agreed with this report at then first, but then backtracked soon after a conversation with California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The wildfires themselves have become politicized by President Trump and his administration on multiple fronts. One of them is California’s staunch position as a blue state. Miles Taylor, a former senior Trump administration official was quoted in a New York Times article saying “He told us to stop giving money to people whose houses had burned down from a wildfire because he was so rageful that people in the state of California didn’t support him and that politically it wasn’t a base for him”. Purposefully denying a state and its people aid because it won’t vote for you is unethical. Trump probably realized this because he came around in the end, although the Times article did include that the areas affected by wildfires in the last four years tend to vote Republican. Is this a move of true leadership or a political show for his supporters? (even though Republican≠Trump Supporter)
Another issue connected to the wildfires is climate change. President Trump denies the fires are any indication of climate change and chalks it up to forest management, which is ironic because 60% of California forests are federally managed. If President Trump wants better forest management, why did he propose a cut of 17% (587 million) of the National Parks budget? (National Parks Conservation Association) These wildfires have been a consistent problem throughout the last few years. Do you think that if Trump is re-elected he will put money into the parks budget and clearing the forest floors, or is this banter to deny climate change and exemplify California as a scientific failure to further polarize his support base?
5 comments:
As expected, Trump( THE PRESIDENT) is incapable of setting aside his emotions in order to help states that don't agree with his morals and views. Trump is unethical, and he is childish to deny California with aid simply because they're a blue state. I do believe that his banter is a way to further polarize and divide the country, as that is his specialty.
In my opinion, it's been clear that Trump is 1) Often obsessed with feuding with Democrats in any way possible (any sign of cooperation can often appear treacherous and hypocritical as Trump has consistently excoriated the Democrats), and 2) hesitant to spend money on anything regarding to safeguarding the environment. For the first point, there was a bipartisan effort in support of NAFTA, which surprisingly did yield better environment policies, but that can thought of as an outlier. Mostly, Trump (and most other politicians) capitalize on polarization for media ratings and coverage, which, in addition to his simple hate for Democrats, is probably why Trump decided at first not to send aid. In fact, at the last presidential debate, Trump blamed only Nanci Pelosi for not agreeing on the new stimulus package, even though Congress Republicans also disagreed with Trump on a sizable package. He said the Republicans will agree with him if Nanci Pelosi does, but it still seems one-sided.
It's a good sign that a conversation with Gov. Newson can jolt Trump back into common sense and make him provide aid, though. Polarization shouldn't supersede natural disaster. Finally, it's very cunning (in a bad way) to cut down funding for National Parks then complain that forest upkeep is insufficient. What has he done to help?
It's pretty clear that Trump's priority is not the wellbeing or safety of the American people. In this instance, his inability to look past his personal issues with the state just seems unprofessional and immature. Respectable presidents still show empathy to those who didn't vote for them. I also think that the fact that many people drew a connection between the fires and climate change could've made him more hesitant to help. He's repeatedly stated that he thinks climate change and global warming is a hoax, and he might think that providing wildfire relief looks like he is in some way acknowledging the presence of climate issues.
I agree with many of the previous comments about how Trump's main concern and priority are not the wellbeing of the American people but rather his own selfish gains. As a president of this country, it is WRONG for him to not provide aid and ensure the safety of his people simply because they do not approve of his values. Since Trump believes that the deterioration of our world is a hoax, he definitely may minimalize and understate the severity of the conditions caused by these wildfires.
Post a Comment