Trump calls FireAid a ‘scam', alleges mismanagement of $100M wildfire relief fund
In a Truth Social post, Trump described FireAid as a 'total disaster', alleging that the $100 million raised for Los Angeles-area fire victims have gone missing.
He wrote: 'FireAid is a total disaster. Looks like another Democrat-inspired scam. 100 million dollars is missing… fires that, with proper management, would never have even happened.'
Trump also criticised California Governor Gavin Newsom, referring to him as 'Governor Newscum', for alleged failures in water management during the wildfire crisis.
The president's remarks follow a series of fast-moving wildfires that swept through Southern California in January, a rare occurrence during the winter season. Reportedly, factors such as unusually dry conditions, Santa Ana winds, and power lines damaged by gusts fuelled the deadly blazes.
As reported by California Globe, in early January, the Eaton and Palisades wildfires raged across parts of Los Angeles. And by the time they were fully extinguished in late January, 31 people had died, over 18,000 structures were destroyed, and tens of thousands of residents were displaced with destroyed or damaged homes.
Total property and home loses have been estimated to be between $76 billion and $131 billion, as per the report.
FireAid was a high-profile benefit concert held on 30 January in Inglewood, California, to raise funds for the victims of the wildfires.
Organised by the Annenberg Foundation and partners, it featured prominent artists like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Olivia Rodrigo, raising approximately $100 million through ticket sales, donations, and sponsorships.
The funds were distributed primarily through grants to nearly 188 non-profit organisations providing emergency relief services such as housing, food, mental health support, and wildfire prevention efforts. FireAid clarified that it does not make direct payments to individual victims but works with trusted non-profits to reach affected communities.
While some fire survivors expressed frustration over not receiving direct aid, FireAid's grant-based approach aims to broadly support recovery and resilience. The remaining funds are earmarked for long-term recovery projects including wildfire mitigation and sustainable rebuilding in the affected areas.
FireAid said it has distributed approximately $75 million so far in grants to 188 non-profits and plans to allocate the remaining $25 million by August towards long-term wildfire mitigation, environmental resilience, and sustainable rebuilding efforts.
Although no fraud has been proven, California Congressman Kevin Kiley called on US Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the relief effort. David Howard, when asked whether an investigation is warranted, replied, 'Yes. People need to know where this money went. That's the only way to rebuild trust.'
(With inputs from California Globe)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
Saudi Arabia Says Palestinian State a Must for Ties With Israel
Saudi Arabia can normalize ties with Israel only after the establishment of a Palestinian state, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said, reiterating the kingdom's stance days after President Emmanuel Macron said France would recognize it in September. 'For the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, normalization with Israel can only come through the establishment of a Palestinian state,' Bin Farhan said at a United Nations press conference with his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, on the two-state solution. 'That position remains the same, and it is based on a strong conviction that only through the establishment of a Palestinian state and only through addressing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination can we have sustainable peace and real integration in the region,' the Saudi foreign minister said. US President Donald Trump has been pushing for Saudi Arabia's entry into the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements his first administration brokered between Arab states and Israel. The kingdom on different occasions reaffirmed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's demand for an independent Palestinian state as part of any normalization agreement. The current humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip is a stumbling block to reaching such a deal, with hunger convulsing the shattered Palestinian enclave. There is 'no credibility to have a conversation about normalization with constant death and suffering and destruction in Gaza,' Bin Farhan said. There has been growing international pressure on Western governments to push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step up efforts to address the crisis. Trump said the US would work on a new effort to provide food aid to alleviate starvation in Gaza along with other governments and organizations, including the UK and European Union. He laid out a proposal during a Monday meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Turnberry, Scotland. Read: Gaza Crisis Spirals as Aid Groups Say Starvation Spreads Trump, who earlier this year proposed that the US takes over Gaza, said he is 'not going to take a position' on Palestinian statehood but doesn't mind if Starmer does. The British premier said it was a matter of 'when not if' the UK recognizes Palestine as a state, but that it must be one step along a pathway to peace. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hans India
27 minutes ago
- Hans India
Op Sindoor debate in Parliament: 'At no stage in talks with US'
New Delhi: There was no call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump between April 22 and June 17, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the Lok Sabha on Monday, during the debate on Operation Sindoor. Jaishankar was addressing questions on the Indian military operation, one of which has been on Trump's claim of intervening and using trade offers for making India and Pakistan reach a ceasefire understanding. 'I want to make two things very clear. One, at no stage in any conversation with the United States was there any linkage with trade and what was going on,' Jaishankar said in Lok Sabha on Monday. 'Secondly, there was no call between the Prime Minister [Modi] and President Trump from the 22nd of April when President Trump called up to convey his sympathy and the 17th of June, when he called up Prime Minister [Modi] in Canada to explain why he could not meet,' Jaishankar added.
Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- Indian Express
How do Chinese analysts view speculations of Trump visiting Beijing in September?
Long-time China watchers and foreign affairs experts know that reports of Chinese leaders travelling abroad or a foreign leader visiting Beijing are only confirmed when they come from China's state-run Xinhua news agency. Since rumours of US President Donald Trump being invited to attend a September 3 military parade in Beijing first appeared in the media nearly a month ago, Xinhua has neither denied nor confirmed them. According to reports published in China, Japan's Kyodo News Agency first reported on a possible visit. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson denied having 'any information on the matter' on June 30. However, the speculations resurfaced after Moscow confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the event on July 21. A Reuters story ('Trump may travel to China to meet Xi in 'not-too-distant' future') on July 22 said Trump was likely to attend the ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said that Russia was also open to discussing the possibility of holding talks between Putin and Trump, should the latter visit Beijing. Amid speculations of a potential high-level meeting involving Putin, Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, London's The Times newspaper also reported that Beijing may be positioning itself to host a trilateral summit. What has also fuelled the rumours are comments from Trump in January, when he was sworn in as President for the second time, and after he spoke with Xi in June amid the tariff war, about his interest in visiting China shortly. China's media landscape differs from most countries, as the Chinese Communist government exerts significant control over news outlets. While the internet also has restrictions, discussions on online forums and websites still help get an idea of Chinese perspectives. Recently, some scholars and strategic affairs analysts in China weighed in on Trump's potential visit in September: *First, it is seen as necessary for the leaders of China and the United States to sit down and exchange their views on the bilateral relationship and their ideas on the evolving world order. This comes amid turmoil in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as important recent issues in the bilateral ties, such as tariffs. *Second, the military parade is also a means for China to display and project its military strength to the outside world. It may make Trump re-evaluate the relative capabilities gap between the countries and could be more conducive to the future development of the two countries, some Chinese scholars have said. *Third, China has formally called the event the 80th anniversary of the 'War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression' in recent years. It could help enhance the status and role of China's wartime endeavours in World War 2 (called the 'World Anti-fascist War'). An article penned under a popular Chinese social media blog account, Fox Condolence, and re-circulated by the digital news platform recently wrote: 'If Trump can also come, there will be a historic scene of China, the United States and Russia celebrating the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression together. This is the first time in 80 years since the war, and it will be held in Beijing. This will undoubtedly greatly enhance China's influence in the world.' *Fourth is the view that calling Trump may be necessary, since he has not held in-person meetings with Putin and Xi since July 2018 and November 2019, respectively. Two weeks ago, in an interview with a Chinese news daily, Professor Gao Zhikai, Deputy Director at the Centre for China and Globalization (CCG) in Beijing, claimed to be the first in China to propose that Trump be invited in September. His main reason was, 'Trump is a short-term phenomenon in US politics, China must try and keep him [Trump] in good humour.' As soon as the Japanese media broke the news of Trump's possible visit, the political elite and media in the United States began to warn the President against it. Chinese scholars have also made a note of these views: *First, there is a view in the US that China's invitation to Trump is a calculated effort to present the country as America's equal on the global stage. Vincent C. Chen, a senior executive in Taiwan's information and communications technology industry, wrote in The Hill that the visit may attempt to convey a vision of 'co-governance of the world.' *Second, he argued that the parade was not a symbol of peace, nor was it aimed at merely commemorating a historic victory. 'It is a deliberate display of military strength, to project the narrative of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) superiority and signaling strategic rivalry with the U.S.', Chen wrote. *Third is the view that the visit would actually help enhance China's role in the war. Writing in Mandarin for the German news agency, Deutsche Welle, a well-known Chinese political affairs commentator, Deng Yuwen, wrote: 'In the Western narrative, China's eight-year war of resistance and huge sacrifices were not crucial to defeating fascism… China has always wanted to reverse the Western-dominated narrative framework of World War II history, but the effect is not obvious.' *Fourth, while analysing reactions in both China and in the US to Beijing's possible invitation to Trump, Singapore-based digital political weekly, ThinkChina, observed: 'Trump sharing the stage with the leaders of two authoritarian states – in the eyes of the West – would trigger strong domestic backlash. Criticism would not come just from the Democrats, but also from the China hawks within the Republican Party. Going against the bipartisan consensus on containing China could come at a political cost for Trump.' Chinese analysts also struck a note of caution, noting that the Communist Party must consider the leaders of the Global South countries, who would likely be invited to the parade as well. As Deng Yuwen has pointed out, if Beijing treats Trump with higher courtesy, will they question China's narrative as an advocate of such countries? This may weaken its influence and appeal in the Global South, where it has made vast investments over the years. Hemant Adlakha teaches Chinese at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He is also Vice Chairperson and an Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), Delhi.
