Transactional Trump
Owing to the magnitude of the calamity in Los Angeles, California governor Gavin Newsom asked the President to increase federal funding for disaster relief from 75% to 90%. The President said no. Instead he said he is going to increase the federal funding to 100%. That’s for all the costs, including “debris and hazardous material removal, temporary shelters, first responders’ salaries, and all necessary measures to protect life and property.” Joe Biden promised to “spare no expense” to help the people, children and animals of Los Angeles during this awful time. That pledge covers the next 180 days.
That is what a President does. That’s why we elect Presidents. Part of their job is to help Americans in times like this. Notice Biden didn’t say “except for people who didn’t vote for me.” It was a pledge for everyone, no matter what they thought or said about him. What party the victims belong to was not an issue and should never be.
In this the people of Los Angeles were lucky. If there had to be a life-altering disaster like this one, they were fortunate at least that it didn’t happen under Trump. Trump’s response might have been not to take the call from the governor in the first place. Trump would have accused governor “Newscum” of causing the fires himself, because that’s what he’s doing now. He would have withheld the funds to punish the Democrats of Los Angeles. It wouldn’t matter to Trump if 49% of LA was MAGA and 51% was Democrats. The fact that he lost the city and the state in the election would be all he needs to know.
Meanwhile, Fox “News” host and Trump sycophant Jesse Watters is mocking the firefighting leadership of Los Angeles because they’re not all straight white men. Donald Trump has tweeted nothing but bile and hatred for California while Americans are losing their homes and their lives. Elon Musk is making sure the algorithm of his failed social media platform Twitter-X is doing its job to promote lies and disinformation, including the lie that California had no water prepared, despite the provable fact that the water reserves were full when the disaster struck.
The lies being spread by various MAGA organs of hate are now actually part of the disaster. Just as it did during hurricane Helene, misinformation is actually causing more problems in the disaster area and imperilling the efficacy of first responders.
By the way, if any of this sounds vaguely historically familiar it should. In 1933 the Nazis exploited the Reichstag fire in order to spread their hateful propaganda. If the shoe fits …
The disaster in Los Angeles will still be ongoing when Trump and his gang of thugs take over a week from now. Ironically, having a thin-skinned man-baby like Trump in charge could be a far worse disaster for LA than this horrific fire. Will Trump rescind Biden’s order for financial aid to LA merely because he despises Joe Biden? Why not? He’s done it before. Last time he was “president” Trump tried to remove healthcare for forty-five million Americans simply because their healthcare was provided by a black man.
Joe Biden’s response to Americans in need has been to spare no expense to help them. Donald Trump’s response to Americans in need is never so generous. Even if you’re MAGA Trump will not lift a finger for you unless there’s something in it for him. Just as he did in 2023 when he swept into Miami’s famous Cuban restaurant Versailles and promised “food for everyone,” Trump will skip out without paying the check. Trump is and always has been transactional. By now you have to be a complete moron — or a Trump voter, which amounts to the same thing — not to notice that Donald Trump doesn’t give a shit about anyone but himself.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.