In his first interview since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of ending federal disaster relief and leaving states to "take care of their own problems".
Speaking to Fox News, Donald Trump accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of turning its back on victims as several parts of Los Angeles were left devastated by wildfires and the eastern US remains under recovery after being devastated by two hurricanes.
"FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida, we had Alabama tornados," Donald Trump said in the interview.
He said unless there was "certain types of leadership", it gets in the way. "And FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems," the President said.
Trump's remarks came in the backdrop of another rapid-moving wildfire raging through the northwestern neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California. The Hughes Fire in Castaic has forced evacuation orders or warnings of 50,000 people.
The fire, which erupted on late Wednesday morning, is under zero per cent containment even as firefighters battled the blaze fiercely. The blaze has so far charred more than 9,000 acres of land.
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