Trump and the Future of Federal Disaster Response

Donald Trump finished his visit to the center of Texas, where he met representatives of the State and the people affected by the devastating floods last week. Panelists on Washington week with the Atlantic Joined to discuss the role of federal agencies and the response to emergency disasters as part of the second Trump Administration.

What the presidents of Bill Clinton frequently did in response to emergency disasters is “to find ways to connect with people on the ground” and to “show that they will not only bring resources from the federal government, but they understand their fate”, Peter Baker, the chief correspondent for the White House for The New York Timessaid last night. “And that’s just not where Trump is. He is sometimes very good at mobilizing resources, but it is not good, I think, to connect with people who suffer.”

Although the president “is more empathetic than we have seen in the past”, Tarini Party, a White House journalist at THE Wall Street JournalAdded, he was still trying to “praise the response of his administration”. Unlike other administrations, she continued, Trump has chosen to reduce his federal response, rather based on state authorities and local authorities.

Joining Ashley Parker, a guest moderator and editor The AtlanticTo discuss it and even more: Zolan Kanno-Youngs, a White House correspondent for The New York Times; Tarini Party, a White House journalist at The Wall Street Journal; Nancy Youssef, editor The Atlantic; and Peter Baker, the main correspondent of the White House to The New York Times.

Watch the full episode here.