President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Ohio just one day before holding a campaign rally in the state, while leaving 15 other pending disaster requests unaddressed.
The declaration was approved ahead of a rally held on October 3 at a high school gymnasium in Vandalia, Ohio, where Trump appeared alongside Sen. Jon Husted.
At the rally, Trump told supporters he had signed what he described as a special disaster declaration for Ohio following severe weather that struck the state in August.
“Yesterday, I also signed a special disaster relief declaration at the request of Jon [Husted] and Bernie [Moreno] and everybody,” Trump said, referring to Ohio’s other Republican senator, Bernie Moreno.
The major disaster declaration authorizes direct federal assistance to residents of seven of the 23 counties that Republican Governor Mike DeWine had originally requested be included.
Trump also used the rally to take aim at Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, who is facing Republican challenger Vivek Ramaswamy in the upcoming race.
“I’m not gonna help her probably,” Trump said of Acton, raising fresh questions about whether disaster relief decisions were being shaped by political considerations.
Trump extended the pattern to Wisconsin days later, vowing on social media to approve disaster aid for that state as part of his endorsement of Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat who had already requested the disaster aid and said he had heard nothing from the administration, responded sharply, calling the announcement “Complete and Total Bullshit.”
“Clearly, President Trump and Congressman Tiffany are continuing to play politics with emergency aid that’s meant to help communities recover,” Evers wrote on social media.
Tiffany, for his part, said in a statement that securing disaster aid following tornadoes that struck his district in late July “has been a top priority” and that he had maintained “regular contact with the administration.”
“I appreciate the administration responding to Wisconsin’s needs,” Tiffany added, framing the development as the result of sustained advocacy rather than political timing.
The White House pushed back firmly against accusations that disaster relief decisions were being driven by electoral strategy or partisan considerations.
“There is no politicization to the president’s decisions on disaster relief,” said White House spokesperson Lauren Bis on October 6.
A FEMA spokesperson also defended the agency’s process, stating that “any suggestion that disaster decisions are politically motivated does not reflect how this process works or how FEMA carries out its mission.”
