When President Trump landed in Iowa yesterday to get a 30-minute briefing on the severe damage done in the state during a layover in Cedar Rapids that lasted one-hour fifteen minute on his way to a two-hour briefing on the border wall in Yuma, Arizona.
On August 10th, a derecho–which is a windstorm with sustained winds rivaling a hurricane–devastated large areas of Iowa, knocking out power and destroying buildings and crops throughout the state.
Trump never left the airport to survey the damage or talk to victims of the storm, which destroyed an estimated 40% of the state’s top cash crop, corn, reports from Salon and USA Today.
Despite Trump’s claim on Twitter that he approved the “FULL” complete disaster relief request made by Iowa republican Governor Kim Reynolds, the federal aid package does not include funds requested by Reynolds to help more than 8,200 homeowners whose properties were damaged or destroyed; $100 million for utilities repair; nor does it include the $3 billion in aid to help farmers whose crops were destroyed.
Just approved (and fast) the FULL Emergency Declaration for the Great State of Iowa. They got hit hard by record setting winds. Thank you to @SenJoniErnst, @ChuckGrassley, and Governor Kim Reynolds.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2020
Trump stopped in to get a photo op at an half-hour emergency management briefing at the Cedar Rapids Airport before jetting off to a planned rally celebrating his border fencing at Yuma, Arizona, where he gave a campaign speech.
The lack of time spent in Iowa, and Trump’s unwillingness to spend time surveying the damage and talking to the victims–some of whom who have been without electricity for nine days after the storm hit with winds peaking at an estimated 130 miles per hour.
The ignorance of victims and detachment of the damage from the storm is reminiscent of the photograph of George W. Bush flying in Air Force One over a devastated New Orleans, underwater after Hurricane Katrina killed thousands.