Editorial: Withholding relief from California fire victims would be unconscionable

The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press Editorial Board, The Virginian-Pilot on Jan 16, 2025

Published in Op Eds

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President-elect Donald Trump demonstrated in his first term a willingness to withhold and otherwise weaponize relief funding to American communities stricken by disaster, providing help to states — or not — depending on his whims.

That inexcusable behavior is set to continue as Trump, amid a flurry of lies and conspiracy theories, and congressional Republicans such as House Speaker Mike Johnson express a reluctance to help California following one of the costliest natural disasters in that state’s history.

Virginia, and any other state that finds itself in harm’s way, should pay close attention, knowing that they may be the next place Congress and the new administration ignores in our hour of need.

Even as the fires in Los Angeles and the surrounding county continue to smolder, the depth of need for affected residents there is already coming into focus. Entire neighborhoods are gone. Owners were helpless and forced to flee as the fires consumed lifetimes of memories in mere minutes.

Wildfires happen with increasing frequency along the West Coast, but these were particularly destructive. The area has received little rain since March and winds gusting to 100 mph meant the flames spread with frightening speed, giving firefighters little chance to contain them before they spread.

Those facts matter little to Trump, who has used his platform as the president-elect to sow lies about what happened and blame the Los Angeles mayor and the California governor, both Democrats, for not doing more. Rather than moving to help, he spread conspiracy theories about environmental policies, water supply and even “diversity, equity and inclusion” — the right’s latest boogieman — easily refuted by a modicum of research.

The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard This is little surprise, of course. The former president routinely did the same during his first term — from using a Sharpie in 2019 to redraw a hurricane forecast map to misstate National Weather Service predictions, to claiming that his administration’s sluggish and inadequate response to Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico was because of, “Big water. Ocean water.”

But more harmful to those reeling in the aftermath of a disaster was his penchant for withholding or slow walking relief funding to affected areas.

Puerto Rico was the most egregious example. Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017, killing an estimated 3,000 people and causing widespread devastation, but Trump sparred with Puerto Rico’s elected leadership and withheld some $20 billion in aid from suffering Americans.

He did the same when wildfires tore through Washington State in 2020 by refusing for months to act on the state’s $37 million relief request submitted by Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat and Trump critic. The petition was only approved by President Joe Biden after taking office in 2021.

And only a few months ago, Trump was a primary source of misinformation for Appalachian communities inundated by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene. Again, the once-and-future president chose political opportunism rather than providing help.

Other states — those whose residents supported Trump at the polls or who had elected leaders friendly to the president — fared far better. The administration and congressional Republicans were quick to speed relief to Florida and Texas after major storms there. There were no conditions attached, and no requirement that either state should take seriously the effects of climate change or adopt mitigation strategies to prevent future disaster. There was only the recognition that people who needed help should have it as quickly as possible.

The fire victims of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County are as American as those along the Texas and Florida coasts, and they deserve the same compassion and assistance as any other place devastated by natural disaster. A president is elected to serve the whole population, not only those who support him.

By threatening to withhold aid, or attaching requirements not imposed on relief for other states, the president-elect and the party he leads have again shown their true faces. That should be deeply concerning to other places, such as Virginia, who may be making similar relief requests of Washington in the coming years.