First Lady Meliana Trump was widely criticized for boarding
Air Force One in stiletto heels when traveling to see the devastation caused by
Hurricane Harvey in Texas.
Now that Mrs. Trump is back to her adopted home state of
Florida to check out Irma’s aftermath, many eyes were looking down — at her
feet. To be fair, the first lady started out as model and she’s gorgeous with
an incredible figure.
She didn’t run for office, her husband The Donald did. So
really where’s our fashion compassion? Chelsea Handler was one of the first to
start with the criticism on Twitter last month, but made no mention of Melania
on Thursday when the couple arrived in Fort Myers to survey damage. That’s
because there was nothing to show.
Meanwhile, as President Donald Trump basks in positive
assessments of his handling of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, he might consider
two words to help explain things: “Thanks, Obama.”
While he’s at it, he could probably also thank the so-called
“deep state,” and offer a wave of gratitude out the window of Air Force One
over Gainesville, Florida ― home of former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate ― as
it flies to Naples, the site of much of Irma’s devastation, on Thursday.
Because while Trump has enjoyed praise from frequent critics
for his leadership during the storms, two of his favorite nemeses are making
his job a lot easier.
Former President Barack Obama appointed Fugate to turn
around the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the system he left behind
is the one Trump inherited heading into this year’s hurricane season.
“Trump’s riding on the shoulders of Obama,” said James
Fraser, a Vanderbilt University professor who has done research on disaster
mitigation. “It’s heartening to know that in this case, the Trump
administration is not trying to undo something the Obama administration did to
help people.”
Trump has lauded his own FEMA administrator, Brock Long, for
his running of the agency. But Trump did not even nominate Long for the job
until April 28, and Long didn’t begin at FEMA until June 20, after the start of
hurricane season. And of the 23 slots available for political appointees at the
agency, only 12 have been filled, counting Long’s. The other responsibilities
are being handled by nonpolitical career employees.
Trump didn’t even nominate people for the two other FEMA
positions that require Senate confirmation until mid-July. One of those, Daniel
Craig, withdrew his nomination after NBC News reported about a federal
investigation of Craig during his earlier stint at FEMA from 2002-2005. The
probe found that Craig appeared to have improperly lobbied his former co-workers
within a year after leaving the agency, helping secure more than $1 billion in
contracts for a client as part of the Hurricane Katrina recovery.
It’s heartening to
know that in this case, the Trump administration is not trying to undo
something the Obama administration did to help people. James Fraser, Vanderbilt
University
It was FEMA’s performance during and after Hurricane Katrina
in 2005, in fact, that became a watershed moment for the agency. Then-President
George W. Bush famously praised his FEMA administrator, Michael Brown ―
“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job” ― even as complaints spread that Brown
and the agency had been woefully unprepared to manage the storm and the massive
flooding it caused in New Orleans.
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