Trump ignored disaster aid request from political rival

[rambot]

Well you have to see the forest and not just the trees. Government action from politics is expected to be unequal. Research too shows that it is unequal. Based on that I am inclined to accept the premise that Trump applied Fema relief unequally but to be certain one would need a bigger sample size than even 4, to know the motivation of withholding relief. Yes, Biden gave relief to Washington state, where Trump denied it. Was it just or perhaps a favor to the democrats? Or is Biden so liberal that he hands out Fema money like he does student loan forgiveness? It simply is not known from any post in here. I saw some research that noted that the size of the disaster does influence the response. Beryl was massive, Fema provided 750 million, in a multi-billion disaster to Texas for that.

I checked other studies and there is quite a bit of information on politics and disaster relief. Here is a typical conclusion "At this point, the politicization of disaster relief is an American tradition." Source The Politicization of Disaster Relief | Policy Commons
I should note too that the same research finds "It is too early to identify whether the Trump administration’s decisions on how to allocate medical supplies, aid, and agricultural relief are truly political." It is a 2020 article. I briefly tried a larger literature review and did not find anything solid on Trump.

For the record, the author of that study kind of conflated different types of "politicization". He referenced one study but sadly, didn't provide any link to it for us to look on our own. He mentions presidential declarations in election years as a "politicization".

So what you see is a positive correlation in the dispensement of GREATER Funds.

You'll recall that the issue is that Trump withheld funding for disasters from states that did not support him. This is the opposite of the other issues being presented. As opposed to gaining undue influence BUT STILL HELPING Americans, this is one kind of politicization that helps Americans.

Trump is participating in actions that actively HARM the people who didn't vote for him.

As opposed to worrying about politicization, I'm more worried about him not helping Americans despite having an obligation to do so. I don't understand why even Republicans don't bat an eye at this. It is 100% problematic for this to happen; that Americans are not being supported equally.

 

[Richard T]

Trump did not deny the request for aid in Washington. He ignored it. He left it hanging.

I have been a resident of AZ for 43 years and remember the Yarnell fire. I do wish Obama approved it, but he didn't deny it on the basis of politics. AZ's request was largely based on emotion regarding the death of 19 firefighters, which was horrible, but the size of the fire was an aspect of the denial.

In contrast, Trump did delay and ignore based on politics. In the months leading up to the WA fire, there were pointed insults directed back and forth between Gov. Inslee and President Trump. It was actually an area that leaned Republican, but Trump's actions were based on who was governor. This article mentions other times and reasons Trump denied or delayed aid based on politics:

Trump Blew Off Disaster Relief Requests From Washington, Other States

Donald Trump delayed or didn't approve federal disaster relief aid to states with governors who criticized, Politico reports.

www.rollingstone.com

Is the Malden area known for white supremacy? Anything to back that up? You linked to a Facebook page that ties to Pullman, WA but there is a lot of empty land between Malden and Pullman. While Pullman is on the Palouse river, which the Facebook page is about, Malden is not.

I think you are pulling things out of the air to defend Trump's denial of aid based on politics, but they fall short or are off topic.

I am just trying to add context to Trump's decision not to provide aid to Malden. It seems unlikely racism played any part in the decision in Malden, though they are located in the Palouse region which has a rich history of it along with the city of Spokane which is just about the Palouse region. Tips for Visiting & Photographing the Palouse. From this map the road NE of Ewan is to Pine City and Malden, so they are within the area of the Palouse on that map as it is not just defined by the specific river area.

You are right I used hyperbole, because research shows that white areas normally are the greatest beneficiaries of Federal Aid so it seems unlikely race played any part in Trump's decision to deny whites in receiving disaster relief.

I see from Politico that Trump is tougher on giving aid out. The reasons seems a "feud" in this case, but in context, in 2019, Inslee was campaigning for President himself. "And Inslee, in an open letter two days before seeking disaster aid, assailed Trump’s “reckless statements” on climate change and his “gutting of environmental policies.”
Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/...aid-request-from-democratic-governor-00185542
So was Governor Inslee out of line? When you play politics you can get burned. If Inslee really cared he should not have been so hostile to Trump. Yes, Trump called him a snake and a failed candidate. The length to deny was a travesty. I like that Politico quotes where 1000 cases were researched and Trump's was the longest.

So I will concede almost everything except Inslee's role and the possibility that other President's used politics just as much. Gov. Inslee was reckless, he ad no way of knowing that Biden would get elected. Aid should never be assumed especially when it was such a small amount. Had the Governor done more to regulate Avista, the fire would never had happened in the first place. Now, after more fires in the Spokane area, WA legislators passed laws, and the utilities now do rolling blackouts to areas of high risk. They certainly could have learned earlier from California and others that better mitigation can prevent wildfires.
Inslee too was pushing a political agenda. Here is one Spokane residents thoughts. "I think I speak for most of my Eastern Washington neighbors when I say how totally disgusted I was to read your reaction to the citizens of Malden Washington. For you to come to this totally devastated town and spew your green political bias in the middle of this tragedy reinforces most of our disgust with you politicians. To bring up your climate change agenda amid a great personal tragedy for most of the residents, is a disgusting, pathetic yet typical political SOP." Source: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/sep/26/inslees-malden-visit/

Both the insurance companies that paid for damages and many residents have sued Avista. I think the cases are still pending. Given that FEMA often busts it's budget at times, communities should insure better. I know cities do that all the time for their own property, even roads and bridges. Plus, every house with a mortgage has to have coverage. But yes, I look at a wider topic but leaving it up to the President in perilous times is absurd. I am glad the community there is back on its feet, with about half the homes rebuilt. I'll assume the other residents didn't feel it was worth rebuilding there. I do hope all are made whole by Avista. I would like to research a list of all denials from all Presidents since Truman. I was surprised too that the authority for disaster declarations seems to be from a Truman executive order.

 

[Richard T]

For the record, the author of that study kind of conflated different types of "politicization". He referenced one study but sadly, didn't provide any link to it for us to look on our own. He mentions presidential declarations in election years as a "politicization".

So what you see is a positive correlation in the dispensement of GREATER Funds.

You'll recall that the issue is that Trump withheld funding for disasters from states that did not support him. This is the opposite of the other issues being presented. As opposed to gaining undue influence BUT STILL HELPING Americans, this is one kind of politicization that helps Americans.

Trump is participating in actions that actively HARM the people who didn't vote for him.

As opposed to worrying about politicization, I'm more worried about him not helping Americans despite having an obligation to do so. I don't understand why even Republicans don't bat an eye at this. It is 100% problematic for this to happen; that Americans are not being supported equally.

You raise some good points but aid of any sort is never equal. Harris' idea to give money to black entrepreneurs is a prime example.
Truman used the disaster declaration by an executive order. I think that still stands though maybe it has been tweaked, The role really should be Congress unless, they are incapable of acting within a timely manner. Small instances like this should be handled by the state. Fema is often overwhelmed.

 

[rambot]

You raise some good points but aid of any sort is never equal. Harris' idea to give money to black entrepreneurs is a prime example.

But things like this address systemic imbalances (as you pointed out earlier that white folk tend to receive more aid).

Truman used the disaster declaration by an executive order. I think that still stands though maybe it has been tweaked, The role really should be Congress unless, they are incapable of acting within a timely manner. Small instances like this should be handled by the state. Fema is often overwhelmed.

You are trying to massage out the issue that Trump totally WITHHELD aid. That's not "unequal", that's failing in your duty.