Trump heads to disaster zones amid emergency funding row

by Danny KEMP

U.S. President Donald Trump made his first trip Friday since returning to power, heading to fire-scorched California and hurricane-hit North Carolina as a row blazed over disaster funding.

The visit came as the White House said that deportation flights on military aircraft had begun, launching Trump's promised operation to expel "millions" of undocumented migrants.

On his fifth day of his whirlwind return to office, Republican Trump headed for Los Angeles amid continuing attacks on its Democratic leaders over their handling of devastating wildfires.

Leaving the White House with First Lady Melania Trump, he repeated his false claims that rain-starved California could solve its water problems by simply opening a valve in the north of the state.

Trump told reporters he was going to "take a look at a fire that could have been put out if they let the water flow, but they didn't let the water flow, and they still haven't for whatever reason."

He suggested yanking federal disaster support for America's second largest city -- a liberal bastion -- after the fires that have killed some two dozen people and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Trump has also slung insults at California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom -- branding him an "idiot" -- and baselessly claimed that California authorities diverted water supplies to save a kind of small fish called a smelt.

Officials say Trump will meet firefighters and those affected by the blazes.

- 'Get it fixed' -

Trump also sought to score political points on North Carolina, accusing Democratic predecessor Joe Biden of failing to help it recover from floods caused by Hurricane Helene last year that killed more than 100 people in the state.

He said the situation there was a "horrible thing the way that's been allowed to fester, and we're going to get it fixed up."

North Carolina resident and Republican supporter Christy Edwards said that "Trump can change everything."

People were still living in camper vans with their families following the disaster, said the 55-year-old retired teacher living an hour away from the hard-hit city of Asheville.

"We're hoping by Trump coming we'll help get more resources," she told AFP by phone.

Trump has floated ending federal disaster relief in general and leaving states to fend for themselves, accusing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of turning its back on victims.

"FEMA has not done their job for the last four years," Trump said on Fox News. "I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems."

- Deportation flights -

The White House is meanwhile keeping the focus of Trump's second term on migration, trumpeting the arrest of 538 arrests on Wednesday.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration had deported "hundreds" of migrants on military aircraft -- a departure from the normal use of civilian planes.

"The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway," Leavitt said on X.

By comparison, under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden there were a total of 270,000 deportations in 2024 -- a 10-year record -- and 113,400 arrests, making an average of 310 per day.

Trump repeatedly accused Biden of failing to crack down on an "invasion" of migrants illegally crossing the southern border with Mexico.

On his first day in office, Trump signed orders declaring a "national emergency" at the southern border and announced the deployment of 1,500 troops to the area.

The Democratic mayor of the city of Newark, New Jersey, Ras Baraka said on Thursday that agents raided a local business and detained undocumented migrants "without producing a warrant."

"Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized," Baraka said in a statement.

There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States, according to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics.

On the international front, Trump told Fox News he would "rather not" impose tariffs on China despite repeated vows to hit America's biggest economic rival with hefty import levies.

Trump also said he would seek to rekindle his diplomatic relationship with Kim Jong Un, calling the North Korean leader he has met three times a "smart guy."

© Agence France-Presse