President Trump toured disaster zones on Friday in North Carolina and California, where he sparred with Democrats over recovery efforts, called the Federal Emergency Management Agency “a big disappointment” and said government help — at least for one blue state — would come with a catch.
The visits were a reminder of Mr. Trump’s willingness to flout the unwritten rules that have long governed the nation’s disaster responses: Cooperate with officials at all levels of government. Bury political differences. Act as a comforter and healer. And promise aid with no conditions attached.
Mr. Trump began the day by warmly embracing supporters in hurricane-ravaged North Carolina and pledging to deliver “the support that you need to quickly recover and rebuild.” He said that he would also help fire-scorched California, which unlike North Carolina is a state he lost in the November election, but he first wanted the state to impose voter identification laws and change its environmental policies.
He also suggested shuttering FEMA, something he does not have the power to do without congressional action. But he said he would sign an executive order that could overhaul the agency.
By the time Mr. Trump sat down with local leaders during a Friday evening briefing in Pacific Palisades, at the heart of the wildfires that have ravaged parts of Los Angeles, it was clear his approach to disaster recovery in his second term would not be devoid of tension.
Mr. Trump criticized the embattled mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, for the pace of rebuilding. And he was confronted by Representative Brad Sherman, Democrat of California, for demanding policy changes in the state in exchange for federal aid.
“I would never have turned to somebody from Louisiana and say, ‘You keep living on your cousin’s couch because we are not going to help you rebuild until Louisiana agrees with me on a woman’s right to choose,’” Mr. Sherman said, referring to abortion rights.
To be sure, Mr. Trump showed glimpses of empathy during his first trip since returning to the White House.
He was immediately met by a crowd of supporters on the tarmac of an airport in Asheville, N.C., situated in the broad corridor of devastation carved out by Hurricane Helene in September. Others in North Carolina lined his motorcade route applauding his arrival. He asked families to step to the lectern and describe their struggle to rebuild their lives.
When he landed in Los Angeles, the president set aside a long-running feud with Gov. Gavin Newsom of California as the two shared a brief, warm greeting — though that interaction occurred only after Mr. Trump’s press secretary reminded reporters on Air Force One that the president prefers to call him “Newscum.”
“We’re looking to get something completed, and the way you get it completed is to work together with the governor of the state,” Mr. Trump said alongside Mr. Newsom at Los Angeles International Airport.
“Thank you for being here,” Mr. Newsom said. “It means a great deal.”
Mr. Trump has often used natural disasters as a vehicle to unleash political grievances, making false statements about his political opponents while promising support for political allies.
During Mr. Trump’s first term, he told aides he wanted to stop money from reaching Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, saying that the island’s leadership was corrupt. After wildfires erupted in California in 2018, Mr. Trump said on social media that he had ordered FEMA to “send no more money” unless the state changed its approach to forest management.
Throughout this week, he has accused the Biden administration and FEMA of neglecting North Carolina — something the former head of the agency rejects. Deanne Criswell, who ran the agency during the Biden administration, said that FEMA had deployed personnel to North Carolina before the storm made landfall, and that the number of staff members and partners numbered in thousands.
“I don’t know what he thinks we should have been doing,” Ms. Criswell said.
Throughout the trip, Mr. Trump attacked the agency relentlessly. He said the agency was “not doing their job” and described it as a “disaster.”
Mr. Trump said he wanted states to have a larger role in the recovery effort, and he asked Michael Whatley, the chairman of the Republican National Committee and a North Carolina native, to help lead the recovery in the state. He charged Richard Grenell, a loyalist who is his “envoy for special missions,” with leading a commission to help California recover.
After meeting families who had lost their homes in Pacific Palisades, Mr. Trump sat down for a briefing with Ms. Bass and local officials. He once again claimed environmental agreements that ensure that the state sends enough freshwater downstream to protect crucial ecosystems were preventing water from reaching Southern California.
Mr. Trump told Mr. Sherman: “Brad, we’re the party of common sense. You’re not, in all fairness. We like water to put out fires. It’s really quite efficient.”
State and fire experts have said those policies have no connection to the fires in the Los Angeles area. Instead, water supply problems were primarily the result of infrastructure shortcomings in municipal systems.
Mr. Trump also sparred with Ms. Bass, who has faced a backlash over her response to the wildfires. Ms. Bass said that more cleanup was necessary in areas, as well as “getting rid of the hazardous waste.”
Trump replied: “What’s hazardous waste? I mean, you’re going to have to define that.”
Mr. Trump also did not appear pleased when Mr. Sherman chose to defend FEMA in the face of his attacks.
“I don’t know how they’re doing it in other states. They’re doing a good job for us here,” Mr. Sherman said, adding that the agency could help states by quickly deploying thousands of people.
Mr. Trump then suggested the state could deploy its own people.
“I can live either way,” Mr. Trump said. “But you haven’t gotten very much done with FEMA, and all you have to do is look at North Carolina.”
Some present praised Mr. Trump for visiting the area just days after being inaugurated.
“I just want to thank you for your leadership on California water policy,” said Representative Vince Fong, who was once an aide to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and took over his seat in perhaps the most conservative enclave in California. “You made it a priority from Day 1.”
Among those invited to travel with Mr. Trump to California was Senator Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, whom Mr. Trump this week called “scum.” Mr. Trump took the time in North Carolina to make clear he himself did not invite the California senator, who as a House member was on the committee that investigated the attack on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
“I was told Schiff was going to travel with us to California,” Mr. Trump said. “Wasn’t thrilled, to be honest with you.”
Mr. Schiff could not make the trip because of expected Senate votes on cabinet nominees, according to a spokesperson.
Annie Karni and Christopher Flavelle contributed reporting.
