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Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Tornado-ravaged voters in MAGA stronghold reveal glaring problem with Trump's 'America First'
MAGA voters in a tornado-ravaged pocket of Mississippi have turned on Donald Trump after he failed to help them for months after deadly twisters tore up their town. Locals in rural Tylertown have said they have felt let down and abandoned by the current administration since the natural disaster caused carnage in March 2025. A violent EF4 tornado - with a wind speed of 166 to 200mph - hit close to the community on March 15, killing five people. Another tornado of EF3 intensity - with wind speeds between 136 and 165 mph - pummeled the area just 30 minutes later, killing another person. The wider southern Mississippi area was ravaged by almost 20 tornadoes in total over a one-week period, damaging thousands of homes and businesses. Several of the red-state residents said they haven't seen a single federal agent in the two months since, despite the widespread carnage. 'I know President Trump said that "America First, we're gonna help our American folks first," but we haven't seen the federal folks down here,' Tylertown resident Bobby McGinnis told PBS. 'I don't know what you got to do or what you got to have to be able to be declared for a federal disaster area because this is pretty bad,' said another Tylertown local, Brian Lowery. 'We can't help you because, whatever, we're waiting on a letter; we're waiting on somebody to sign his name. You know, all that. I'm just over it.' Republican Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves applied for a federal disaster declaration from the government on April 1, but he has not received a response. Governors for multiple other red states, including Arkansas and Missouri, have also appealed for federal funding in the wake of recent tornadoes and been rejected. A federal disaster declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to allocate more resources to help states and local governments cope with the aftermath of a major weather event. Trump, 78, pledged to dismantle FEMA within his first weeks in the White House back in January. He claimed the agency was partisan and failed to give adequate aid to Republican states, arguing that emergency relief would be better handled at a local level. David Richardson took over as acting chief at FEMA after previous boss Cameron Hamilton was booted from the role a day after criticizing the president's plans to abolish the department. Richardson promptly threatened to 'run right over' any staff in his department who resist Trump's agenda. 'Don't get in my way,' the former US marine told staffers, according to a recording of his speech obtained by CBS News. 'I don't need the full title I just need the authority from the president,' Richardson continued from behind a presidential-style podium. 'Obfuscation, delay, undermining. If you're one of those 20 percent of the people and you think those tactics and techniques are going to help you, they will not, because I will run right over you. I will achieve the president's intent. 'I, and I alone in FEMA, speak for FEMA,' Richardson said.
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance
TYLERTOWN, Miss. — More than two months after a tornado destroyed his home, Brian Lowery still looks through the rubble, hoping to find a tie clip his mother gave him, made from the center stone of her wedding band. 'I still have hope,' Lowery said. Lowery considers himself lucky. He, his wife and 13-year-old son made it to safety before the tornado ripped apart their trailer home of 15 years. Despite his positive outlook, Lowery admits he's frustrated; Mississippi's request for federal aid is still pending before the Federal Emergency Management Agency , meaning badly needed assistance has not yet made it to his hard-hit community of Tylertown. 'I don't know what you got to do or what you got to have to be able to be declared for a federal disaster area because this is pretty bad,' Lowery said. 'We can't help you because, whatever, we're waiting on a letter; we're waiting on somebody to sign his name. You know, all that. I'm just over it.' Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves asked the Trump administration for a major disaster declaration on April 1 after 18 tornadoes tore through the state on March 14 and 15, leaving seven people dead and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged. The declaration would allow the state to access a wide range of FEMA resources, including financial aid for individuals and for government agencies still removing debris and repairing infrastructure. 'We don't have a declaration yet. People are still hurting,' said Royce McKee, emergency management director for Walthall County, which includes Tylertown. Mississippi's request comes at a time of upheaval for FEMA. The agency's acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was recently ousted after he publicly disagreed with proposals to dismantle FEMA, an idea President Donald Trump has floated in calling the agency 'very bureaucratic' and 'very slow.' David Richardson, FEMA's new acting administrator, committed himself to executing Trump's vision for the agency. He also previewed potential policy changes, saying there could be 'more cost-sharing with states' and that FEMA would coordinate federal assistance 'when deemed necessary.' Walthall County was hit especially hard by the massive storm system that wreaked havoc across multiple states. The storm spawned two significant tornadoes in the county, where four people died. McKee said the county has sunk an estimated $700,000 into cleaning up the damage but can't afford to spend more and has halted operations until it receives federal help. 'We need federal help, and we need it desperately, and we need it now,' said Bobby McGinnis, a Tylertown resident and firefighter. 'I know President Trump said that — America first, we're going to help our American folks first. But we haven't seen the federal folks down here.' While Mississippi has been waiting, a similar major disaster declaration request out of Arkansas after the storms hit was denied, appealed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and finally approved on May 13. 'We are encouraged by FEMA's decision regarding Arkansas' application from the same storm system that hit Mississippi,' Scott Simmons, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency's director of external affairs, said in a statement. 'We anxiously await a positive decision.' Mississippi lawmakers have been pressing federal officials on the issue. During a congressional hearing in early May, Republican Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest asked U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, to push forward the request. 'I would ask you if you could make sure that you could do everything to expedite that request,' Guest said. 'It is impacting my local jurisdictions with debris cleanup. It is impacting people as they seek to recover.' Republican Mississippi U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith also asked Noem about FEMA assistance and the administration's new approach to the agency. 'President Trump has been very clear that he believes that the way that FEMA exists today should not continue,' Noem responded. 'He wants to make sure that those reforms are happening where states are empowered to do the response and trained and equipped, and then the federal government would come in and support them and financially be there when they need them on their worst day.'
