Tuesday, May 20, 2025

“President Coolidge say ‘Little fat man, idn’t it a shame/what the river have done to this poor crackers’ land?’”

Silence sometimes speaks volumes:
What we need right now is federal assistance,” declared St. Louis, Missouri Mayor Cara Spencer on MSNBC( video below) on Monday, “we need federal assistance.”

“This is where FEMA and the federal government has got to come in and help communities,” Mayor Spencer urged. “Our city cannot shoulder this alone. The State of Missouri cannot shoulder this alone. We need partners at the national level, at the federal level to step up and help.

Spencer said, “This is what the federal government is for. We need your help, we need the help of the broader community.”

“FEMA has not been on the ground—we do not have confirmed assistance from FEMA at this point,” Spencer said. “I do want to say, however, every other level of government has been on the ground with us, helping in every capacity possible. But when you have a disaster of this scale, eight miles of just pure destruction, this tornado didn’t just touch down and leave, this tornado ripped through our community for a full eight miles in the city of St. Louis, and this is an area that has needed help, that we need investment, you know, our North St. Louis has been neglected for a long time, and we need the help of our partners here.”

At a news conference, Spencer had called it “one of the worst storms,” ABC News reported. She said that “the devastation is truly heartbreaking—and let’s not forget people have lost their lives. We are continuing to make sure that we are identifying all those that are injured, in addition to the massive amount of property damage that has taken a huge toll.”

Tornadoes were reported in three more states, bringing the total to six states and 26 tornadoes.

“Over 462,000 customers were without power across multiple states, stretching from Michigan to Tennessee.”
And yet Trump has said not a word.
As of publication time, NCRM was unable to find anything from President Donald Trump on his Truth Social page about the tornadoes’ death and destruction. It does not appear he has offered support or guidance, nor has he suggested he will visit the areas.
I’m sure there are ideological reasons to defund FEMA, but I think Trump has personal ones, too. He doesn’t like disaster areas. They bore him, and he gets criticized for entertaining himself by throwing paper towels. So he doesn’t want to go. And without FEMA, there’s less attention paid to disasters, especially only a few days later.

So for Trump it’s a win-win. He can go pat himself on the back at the Kennedy Center, and Kristi Noem can, well…
This morning, I spoke with Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to offer federal resources and action for the deadly tornadoes and storms impacting Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois. We discussed how while emergency management is best led by local authorities, we reinforced that DHS stands ready to take immediate action to offer resources and support.

I also left a message with Indiana Governor Mike Braun as Indiana has been impacted by these storms.
...yeah, do that. After all, who wants to cosplay a recovery worker?
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