Though he has not visited a natural disaster site as president, Trump has golfed on 40 days out of his 172 in office
20:24 ET, 10 Jul 2025Updated 20:35 ET, 10 Jul 2025
Trump has promised to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, calling it too expensive to support.(Image: Getty Images)
President Donald Trump has declined to visit a single site of a natural disaster in America since retaking office this year and is accused by some as having intentionally delayed federal aid to victims.
Nearly 100 Americans died in the first six months of Trump’s second term due to tornadoes, floods and wildfires, that number having doubled after the devastating flash floods in Texas over the weekend. Despite having expressed well wishes for several areas affected by natural disasters, Trump said in June that he wants to “wean off” FEMA, calling federal disaster aid too expensive and, ultimately, the responsibility of state governors.
Though he has shown reluctance to appear at disaster sites, he has spent 40 days at one of his golf courses out of his 172 days in office this term, according to DidTrumpGolfToday.
READ MORE: Florida weather: ‘People will needlessly die’ warning as impact of Trump’s budget cuts laid bareREAD MORE: Kristi Noem slammed for delaying Texas rescue teams for 72 hours as calls for her to resign grow
Flash flooding in parts of Texas over the holiday weekend left more than 100 people dead, with about 170 still missing late into this week.(Image: AP)
Torrential rains and windstorms caused flooding and mudslides in parts of Kentucky and West Virginia on Feb. 14, killing 25 people, according to HuffPost. Trump spent the following five days playing golf at his clubs in South Florida, but did not visit the affected communities.
A month later, parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi were struck by catastrophic tornadoes and wildfires that left 34 dead. Trump again declined to visit the states, all of which sided with him in the 2024 election, and instead spent the weekend at his course in West Palm Beach. He also spent the following weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
On May 16, tornadoes and heavy rainfall killed 25 people in Missouri and Kentucky. The president played golf at his course in Virginia during the weekend and at Bedminster the next weekend, but did not visit either state.
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This weekend, after deadly flash flooding in the early hours of July 4 left more than 100 Texans dead and 170 missing well into the following week, Trump was again playing golf in New Jersey. Though he has since directed federal aid, Trump has not visited the site of the flooding, a disaster which has captured national attention. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited on Saturday in his place, but she was quick to remind states that they should not rely on the federal government for regular disaster assistance.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has pressed the GOP-led Congress to free up $40 billion in federal relief for swaths of Los Angeles consumed by devastating wildfires in 2024. Trump and other Republicans have so far withheld the funds, with many arguing that Newsom and other Democrats in the deep-blue state have mishandled the fires and should be forced to rescind liberal policies in exchange for aid, according to The Washington Post.
“We, as a federal government, don’t manage these disasters,” Noem said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “The state does. We come in and support them, and that’s exactly what we did here in this situation.”
“We’re cutting through the paperwork of the old FEMA streamlining it, much like your vision of how FEMA should operate,” she added, referring to Trump’s promise to scrap the agency.
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