As Hurricane Harvey prepares to wreak havoc on Texas in the first major hurricane since 2005, it’s not clear whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under Donald Trump is ready to handle the impending disaster.
Just hours ago, the president tweeted a link to FEMA’s along with a pro-Trump propaganda video:
As #HurricaneHarvey intensifies – remember to #PlanAhead.
☑ï¸https://t.co/FMdmvohypy
☑ï¸https://t.co/YL56ldeqoW
☑ï¸https://t.co/t1s4AL3B47 pic.twitter.com/tpXmOK70ug— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017
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As Bloomberg pointed out earlier Thursday, though, the president’s first budget blueprint “sought to cut FEMA’s funding by 11 percent.”
Once again, a Republican president has no problem taking an ax to a certain government agency until something comes along – like, say, a massive natural disaster – that proves how important said agency is.
As the Bloomberg report also noted, Trump’s efforts to slash the agency could pose a major political risk for the president if he doesn’t appropriately manage the hurricane – and there are already serious questions about his competency and mental stability.
This goes without mentioning the fact that Trump has been slow to even staff the agency since he took office, with the FEMA director only being put in place at the end of June, after hurricane season even began.
Trump’s declining mental health and inability to govern a country combined with the strong winds and flash floods of a massive hurricane are the recipe for a complete catastrophe.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
