By Ray Cardello for January 25, 2025, Season 30 / Post 17

One of the favorite lines of the Biden Administration was “Clean up in Aisle 7.” This referred to the task of the Press Secretary and communication people to explain an off-the-cuff or erroneous statement made by Joe Biden when they let him out to talk off prompter. This practice happened with such incredible frequency that Biden’s keepers kept Joe away from most microphones for the last year of his presidency. This was a foolhardy process, as the explanation or cover-up was usually worse than the original gaffe by Joe.

Now that Joe is gone, we are into a new clean-up that will not fit in Aisle 7 or the entire store. The Trump Administration has been left with the unenviable task of responding to the people of North Carolina who were wracked by Hurricane Helene over four months ago. There are still people who FEMA deserted on the Gulf Coast of Florida, and there is still much work to be done in Maui and East Palestine, Ohio. We are still watching the devastation around Los Angeles from the current wildfires and the incredible mismanagement and response by everyone from Mayor Bass to Governor Newsom. There is one common denominator amongst all of these tragedies, and that is FEMA. FEMA is not only a failed agency but has recently shown that it is also politically motivated and corrupt. We have documentation of FEMA agents on the ground early in Florida and North Carolina who avoided inspecting homes that displayed Trump campaign signs. It has been said that the poor response to the train accident in East Palestine was because the county voted so heavily for Trump in 2020. There is no room for politics when it comes to helping people who have had their lives turned upside down by flood, fire, wind, or accident. These people are not Democrats or Republicans. They are Americans, and they need our help, period.

President Trump is in North Carolina today to see firsthand the level of devastation, what FEMA has done to now, and what needs to be done to get these folk’s lives back together. What he is seeing is disgusting and beyond holding anyone accountable. The President is correct when he says that FEMA should be disbanded. We need a more localized response effort to disasters where the relief teams know the areas, people, and culture and will respond quicker because they are already there. FEMA has fallen into the same trap as Justice, CIA, FBI, and IRS. They have become political arms rather than agencies blind to ambition and with a sole apolitical purpose. Some people in North Carolina had no water or power for three months or more. Some still live in makeshift shelters, and it is winter in NC. Some have only received a small stipend and have not heard back from our government. East Palestine is even worse. The ground and water are contaminated, making the area virtually uninhabitable. People who have opted to stay are basically volunteering to be guinea pigs to measure the long-term effects of chemical spills. We don’t treat animals with such disrespect, but that is how Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg treated the innocent victims of East Palestine.

Trump is on these situations now, and he will not rest until these people can rest. Joe Biden did more in four years to erode trust in our Federal Government than all his predecessors combined. There is no level of accountability that will make up for the wrongs committed by Biden and his team. The best way to slam these feckless bureaucrats is to get these areas repaired and show America how things should work when the people in D.C. care about the people harmed, regardless of the signs and placards on their front lawns.