President Donald Trump has made emergency aid a talking point in the final sprint of his campaign. midterm electionsapproving disaster declarations in consecutive states and linking approvals to funding announcements. As the country braces for a major hurricane heading toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, the moves have reignited questions about whether the administration is politicizing disaster recovery.
The latest example came Wednesday, when Trump voiced support for Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race while pledging millions to help weather recent storms.
Additionally, the president recently joked that he would cut off funds to North Carolina, which is still recovering from Hurricane Helene two years ago, if Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley lost. And the day before a campaign rally in Ohio with Sen. Jon Husted last Saturday, Trump approved a disaster declaration for the state while leaving 15 other requests pending.
Advocates for disaster survivors say they want elected officials to prioritize their recovery — not use it as a political tool.
“Recovery is not partisan,” said Sierra Lindsey-Kos, co-founder and co-executive director of Extreme Weather Survivors, a nonprofit advocacy organization.
“Neighbors help each other without worrying about who everyone voted for, and that’s exactly how it should be,” she said.
The White House has rejected the idea that it would inject politics into disaster recovery. “There is no politicization in the president’s decisions regarding disaster relief,” spokeswoman Lauren Bis said Tuesday.
Trump’s Truth Social posts link disaster support and funding
Trump frequently mentioned support for disasters in his social media posts during the midterms, sometimes announcing new funding in conjunction with reminders of support for Republican candidates like Ashley Hinson in Iowa and Andy Barr in Kentucky.
On Wednesday, Trump said he spoke to Tiffany, “who has my complete and utter support to be the next governor of the great state of Wisconsin,” and told her that about $17.9 million in disaster funds were coming to the state. “$18 million should help, A LOT,” Trump wrote. Tiffany faces Democratic candidate David Crowley in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race.
A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said his office had not been informed of the money, and Evers responded to the social media post.
“Clearly, President Trump and Congressman Tiffany continue to play politics with emergency aid intended to help communities recover after disasters like tornadoes and floods. »
FEMA later confirmed that Trump had approved a disaster declaration for Wisconsin, as well as West Virginia and Guam, although he did not announce it on social media.
Even creating the impression that disaster relief and votes are linked is traditionally “out of reach,” said Rafael LeMaitre, a FEMA spokesman under former President Barack Obama.
“This diminishes the integrity of the disaster management system and erodes confidence in how the government handles disasters in general,” he said.
Disaster relief seeps into campaign speeches
When Trump held a gathering in North Carolina For Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, the president acknowledged that the state is still waiting for billions of dollars in federal stimulus funds to Hurricane Helene.
“Now if Michael loses, I won’t send him,” he said. “No, I’m joking, you understand,” he added.
Republican Jennifer Balkcom, a congressional candidate in a western North Carolina district, later defended Trump’s comments.
“I don’t know if he was funny,” Balkcom told WLOS ABC News 13. “I think he was trying to persuade voters to vote for Michael Whatley.”
While the joke may not deter Trump’s most devoted supporters, others found it off-putting, said Jon Council, who works for the organizing group Down Home North Carolina.
“This just does not seem to me to be a person or an administration that takes seriously the conditions on the ground and takes its responsibility to the American taxpayer seriously,” the Council said.
Trump also raised the issue of disaster relief funds campaign rally in Ohio Last Saturday, he told supporters in a Vandalia high school gymnasium that he had signed a “special” disaster declaration for the state after August’s severe weather.
“You had some big storms, and Jon and everyone wanted me to help them, and I took care of them,” Trump said, referring to Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is leading a tight re-election race against Democrat Sherrod Brown.
The major disaster declaration for Ohio authorizes direct aid to residents in seven of 23 counties requested by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. This comes as 15 other requests from states, tribes and territories remain pending, including two from Hawaii, which experienced consecutive hurricanes in August and September.
Trump did not respond to pending disaster requests before rallying last week in two other Republican states with less important elections, Oklahoma and Nebraska.
Concerns about politicization predate midterm elections
Andrew Rumbach, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who tracks presidential disaster declarations, said politicians “have always tried to use disasters to their advantage.” However, he said the White House’s behavior was “unusual and frankly concerning.”
An associated press analysis in July, it was found that Trump had approved more than three-quarters of the requests from states that voted for him in the 2024 election, but less than half of the requests from states that did not.
A FEMA The spokesperson said Tuesday that “any suggestion that disaster decisions are politically motivated does not reflect how this process works or how FEMA fulfills its mission.”
Politics has permeated recent communications from FEMA itself.
A September press release on preparations for a Easter storm listed 18 Republican members of Congress with whom agency leaders “worked closely” during the weather event, failing to mention Democrats even though the states mentioned were run by Democrats.
A FEMA spokesperson did not respond to questions about why only Republican officials were appointed.
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