FEMA/NATURAL DISASTERS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Hours after a deadly tornado ripped through Alabama over the weekend, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to promise the state would receive ‘A Plus treatment’ from the federal government as local officials began their recovery. But the president’s strongly worded commitment – and his decision to visit the state on Friday, just days after the storms there killed 23 people – marked a sharp contrast with the rhetoric he has used recently to describe disasters in bluer parts of the country, where he often criticizes local leaders and threatens to withdraw federal aid. Because Trump directs his most pointed criticism of disaster recovery at California, which endured its deadliest wildfire season in history last year, and Puerto Rico, which has been digging out from Hurricane Maria since 2017, critics have questioned whether the president is playing favorites with states and constituencies that support him…Even Trump’s critics acknowledge there is no evidence the process itself – driven largely by career FEMA officials – has been affected by politics. And Trump previously tweeted words of support to Puerto Rico and California similar to those he used for Alabama.”
–John Fritze and Ledyard King, “As Trump visits tornado victims in Alabama, is he playing politics with disaster relief?,” USA Today, March 8, 2019 3:33 pm