In his first interview since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of ending federal disaster relief and leaving states to "take care of their own problems".
Speaking to Fox News, Donald Trump accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of turning its back on victims as several parts of Los Angeles were left devastated by wildfires and the eastern US remains under recovery after being devastated by two hurricanes.
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"FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida, we had Alabama tornados," Donald Trump said in the interview.
He said unless there was "certain types of leadership", it gets in the way. "And FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems," the President said.
Trump's remarks came in the backdrop of another rapid-moving wildfire raging through the northwestern neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California. The Hughes Fire in Castaic has forced evacuation orders or warnings of 50,000 people.
{{/usCountry}}Trump's remarks came in the backdrop of another rapid-moving wildfire raging through the northwestern neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California. The Hughes Fire in Castaic has forced evacuation orders or warnings of 50,000 people.
{{/usCountry}}The fire, which erupted on late Wednesday morning, is under zero per cent containment even as firefighters battled the blaze fiercely. The blaze has so far charred more than 9,000 acres of land.
ALSO READ | Los Angeles wildfires: New ‘Hughes Fire’ forces evacuation orders for 50,000 people
Trump further alleged that California's fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state are responsible for the drying up of fire hydrants in the urban areas.
He slapped the responsibility of LA not being able to handle the deadly wildfires lies with Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the water run down,” Trump said.
On Friday, President Trump will visit Southern California, which is still reeling from and battling wildfires, and western North Carolina which is recovering from the devastation that Hurricane Helene left behind more than three months ago.
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Notably, Trump and the Republicans in the US Congress have said that help for California should be conditioned on actions of the state's Democratic leaders, despite making no such suggestion when storms took the lives of over 100 people and caused massive flooding across the US southeast, an AFP report said.
In the interview, Trump also defended his pardons for the convicts of the January 6, 2021 Capitol storming, his extension of the TikTok federal ban, immigration plans and possibility of cutting off federal funds to so-called "sanctuary cities" that protect undocumented migrants.
(with inputs from AFP)