Hawaii's Democratic governor expresses his gratitude to President Trump
Unlike, say, California, volcano- and flood-plagued Hawaii isn't busying itself with bashing President Trump. Hawaii's Democratic governor, David Ige, expressed considerable gratitude to the president for his swift response to his two requests for disaster declarations – one for the floods in Kauai in April, and then another for his state's volcano problems on the Big Island in May. After a bit of delay, Ige asked for aid, and right out the gate, he got it:
"I'm grateful for the quick approval of my request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration. This opens the door to federal assistance and demonstrates a solid partnership with the federal government as we work to keep Hawai'i residents safe and support recovery efforts on Hawai'i Island," said Gov. David Ige.
As the volcanic eruption enters its second week – assessments continue and additional requests will be made when federal requirements are met.
Today's Presidential Disaster Declaration for Hawai'i Island follows the Presidential Disaster Declaration for flood-damaged Kaua'i and the City and County of Honolulu, which was granted on May 8.
The White House hasn't updated its website to confirm that the federal help for the volcanic eruptions is coming, but we can probably take the governor's word for it. There is a disaster declaration for the Kauai floods. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser also confirmed that a second declaration came for the volcano.
What a striking contrast this is to the nonstop attacks on President Trump from the Beltway morass and the coastal elites, who would make him out to be a monster and whose chief preoccupation is engineering some means of overthrowing him.
And so much for the utterly baseless claims, bubbling out there on Twitter by leftists, that Trump had no intention of helping, something that was scaring the residents of the affected areas, including my own sister, who lives in Leilani Estates and who has been evacuated. The Hawaii Democratic governor asked, and the Hawaii Democratic governor got. And since he had class, he said thanks.
Apparently, when you are on an island and rather distant from the mainland, you think more about how you ensure your survival, and you prioritize accordingly. It makes more sense to focus on your own state than the Beltway's offense at the very existence of President Trump. As a result, you don't waste time with Trump-bashing and playing Washington's stupid little coup games.
Note that the mainstream media on the mainland haven't said much about this at all. They wouldn't be caught dead giving President Trump credit as the Hawaiian Democrat did.
Far from being the monster of their imaginations, Trump's actually just another good-hearted president who responds quickly and with no partisan rancor to disaster declaration requests from any of the states, even a largely blue state, in the throes of unusual disasters – with torrential flooding on one side of the state and boiling volcanic eruptions on the other.
The Hawaiian perspective is refreshing and edifying for the rest of us to see, and both Trump and the Democratic governor deserve credit for the civility of the exchange.