Reuters, July 2025
In the days since flash flooding killed at least 120 people in Texas, President Donald Trump has pledged unwavering support for the deep-red state, lauding Republican Governor Greg Abbott and other local officials for their “incredible” response to the July 4 disaster. That praise, which Trump is likely to repeat during his visit to the flood-ravaged Texas Hill Country on Friday, is a far cry from Trump’s harsh criticism of elected Democrats in California when wildfires devastated Los Angeles in January.
While the fires were burning, he accused Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of “gross incompetence.” Months later, left-leaning California is seeking more federal dollars to help recover from the catastrophe. The Republican-led Congress has yet to release $40 billion in federal disaster recovery aid that Newsom requested in February. That said, the Trump administration has given disaster survivors more than $2 billion in FEMA grants and federal loan assistance and paid $2 billion for debris clearance. During his time as president, as well as when he was a candidate, Trump has cast disaster response in us-versus-them terms more often than any other president in recent times, highlighting his allies’ efforts while criticizing opponents, experts say.
