Trump’s Disaster Reel: The Greatest Hits of a Commander-in-Chief—As Hurricane Milton Bears Down
By: The Zeitgeist Editorial Team
As Hurricane Milton wreaks havoc on Florida—a Category 4 beast threatening to carve its name into the history books—one can’t help but look back on the man who turned disaster into sport: Donald J. Trump. Now, here we are in 2024, staring down a presidential race between him and Kamala Harris, trying to decide which flavor of doom we prefer. It’s the same, tired choice between awful and… well, slightly less awful. Because let’s be honest: the American system loves to set the bar so low that it’s practically underground.
But Trump? He’s not just “bad.” He’s actively dangerous—a candidate who treats natural disasters like PR stunts and sees people’s suffering as little more than background noise to his ego trips. While millions are bracing for impact, let’s reflect on why putting this man back in charge is a catastrophic idea in itself.
A Disaster Presidency That Was Anything But Presidential
During Trump’s first go-around in the Oval Office, he didn’t just fumble disaster response—he turned incompetence into a national policy. His track record of neglect, denial, and literal rewriting of science is extensive. For those who’ve forgotten (or blocked it out as a trauma response), let’s walk through just a few of his greatest hits:
1. Puerto Rico Paper Towels (2017)
Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017, killing nearly 3,000 Americans and plunging the island into chaos. Trump’s response? Show up weeks late, under-deliver aid, and lob paper towels at desperate residents like it was some demented game show. And then, because gaslighting is his superpower, he disputed the death toll, dismissing the catastrophe with, “It wasn’t like Katrina.”
2. Harvey ‘Fortune’ (2017)
When Hurricane Harvey decimated Texas, killing 88 people and causing $125 billion in damage, Trump’s main takeaway was that Texas made a “fortune” on the disaster. He treated federal aid like a generous bonus check rather than a lifeline, highlighting his disturbing inability to empathize with anyone outside of his political allies.
3. Sharpiegate (2019)
During Hurricane Dorian, Trump mistakenly claimed Alabama was in the path of the storm. Rather than correct himself, he doctored an official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) map with a Sharpie. Yes, a Sharpie. While people prepared for a deadly storm, Trump prioritized his ego over public safety. And he kept defending his altered map for days.
4. Nuking Hurricanes (2019)
Yes, this is the same man who thought nuking hurricanes was a legitimate idea. Instead of heeding scientific advice, Trump was reportedly fascinated by the prospect of “just dropping a bomb” on a storm. Because nothing says “disaster management” like adding radioactive fallout to a hurricane.
5. Rolling Back Flood Protections (2017)
As climate change made storms more dangerous, Trump’s answer was to gut flood protections. He rolled back standards meant to safeguard Americans from rising sea levels, leaving us vulnerable to more extreme weather. And when FEMA’s ranks dwindled under his hiring freeze, Trump left key disaster response positions vacant, making sure we were less prepared when nature inevitably struck again.
6. Sabotaging FEMA and NOAA (2017-2020)
Under Trump, FEMA was led by underqualified officials, and the National Weather Service had 216 vacant positions due to his government-wide hiring freeze. In 2017 alone, there were three major hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and Maria—yet Trump waited longer than any other president to fill the role of National Hurricane Center director.
7. Diverting Disaster Relief to Immigration Enforcement (2019)
Less than a week after Hurricane Dorian, Trump siphoned $115 million from FEMA to fund immigration detention facilities. It was a slap in the face to the communities ravaged by storms, further proof that he valued fearmongering over public safety.
8. Bungling Michigan Floods (2020)
While Michigan grappled with catastrophic floods, Trump threatened to withhold disaster funding from the state over—get this—absentee ballot applications. Because democracy, apparently, is more dangerous than a dam breaking.
9. Trump’s Border Wall Flood Trap (2017-2020)
His obsession with the border wall wasn’t just a waste of money—it actively exacerbated flooding. Contractors disrupted water flow, causing increased floods in several areas. But hey, why let facts get in the way of a pet project?
10. Puerto Rico—The Ultimate Debacle
Trump’s bungling of Hurricane Maria will go down in history as one of the most disgraceful failures of disaster response. FEMA deployed underqualified workers, awarded a $156 million contract to a woman with no experience, and allowed power to be out for nearly a year. He denied essential aid to the island, downplayed the suffering, and accused Democrats of inflating the death toll to “make me look as bad as possible.” Because, as we all know, it’s always about Trump.
Why Put the Guy Who Let People Die Back in Charge?
Yet, here we are, in the 2024 election, with Trump somehow the Republican frontrunner and Kamala Harris on the Democratic side. And what’s our choice? Trump—the disaster artist who sees himself as the star of every crisis—or Harris, who, at best, promises to be marginally better. It’s a grim reminder that the American electoral system is rigged to hand us two options: chaos incarnate or mediocre at best. But Trump? He’s not just a “bad” candidate. He’s a man who let Americans die to feed his ego.
—The Zeitgeist