At least 28 people across three states were killed when tornadoes struck Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia on Friday, with a governor and a mayor calling them among the worst they’ve ever seen. Unseen, however, has been any acknowledgment or support from President Donald Trump or, according to some reports, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“What we need right now is federal assistance,” declared St. Louis, Missouri Mayor Cara Spencer on MSNBC (video below) on Monday, “we need federal assistance.”

“This is where FEMA and the federal government has got to come in and help communities,” Mayor Spencer urged. “Our city cannot shoulder this alone. The State of Missouri cannot shoulder this alone. We need partners at the national level, at the federal level to step up and help.”

Spencer explained, “this is what the federal government is for. We need your help, we need the help of the broader community.”

READ MORE: White House Scrambles to Clean Up Trump’s Walmart ‘Rage Tweeting’ Amid Upcoming ‘Standoff’

“FEMA has not been on the ground—we do not have confirmed assistance from FEMA at this point,” Spencer said. “I do want to say, however, every other level of government has been on the ground with us, helping in every capacity possible. But when you have a disaster of this scale, eight miles of just pure destruction, this tornado didn’t just touch down and leave, this tornado ripped through our community for a full eight miles in the city of St. Louis, and this is an area that has needed help, that we need investment, you know, our North St. Louis has been neglected for a long time, and we need the help of our partners here.”

At a news conference, Spencer had called it “one of the worst storms,” ABC News reported. She said that “the devastation is truly heartbreaking—and let’s not forget people have lost their lives. We are continuing to make sure that we are identifying all those that are injured, in addition to the massive amount of property damage that has taken a huge toll.”

Tornadoes were reported in three more states, bringing the total to six states and 26 tornadoes.

“Over 462,000 customers were without power across multiple states, stretching from Michigan to Tennessee.”

As of publication time, NCRM was unable to find anything from President Donald Trump on his Truth Social page about the tornadoes’ death and destruction. It does not appear he has offered support or guidance, nor has he suggested he will visit the areas.

“You can not only see the destruction, you can feel it,” Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Beshear told reporters on Saturday as he toured his state, according to ABC. “Beshear, who declared a state of emergency ahead of the storms, said he’s been governor for at least 13 federally declared disasters related to weather and this storm was one of the worst in terms of loss of life and damage.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a social media post made no mention of FEMA, but said that she had spoken to Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, “to offer federal resources and action for the deadly tornadoes and storms impacting Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois.”

READ MORE: ‘Bonanza for Billionaires’: Johnson Celebrates ‘Victory’ of Medicaid-Gutting Tax Cuts Bill

She suggested that the federal government would take a back seat to local efforts.

“We discussed how while emergency management is best led by local authorities, we reinforced that DHS stands ready to take immediate action to offer resources and support,” Noem wrote on Saturday. “Local emergency managers should swiftly notify people in the affected areas to take action to protect themselves and their belongings. DHS stands ready to help when a state needs, requests, and declares an emergency.”

Fred Wellman, an Army combat veteran and host of the “On Democracy” podcast from the St. Louis area, on Saturday wrote: “Yesterday my hometown was hit with massive tornadoes. We weren’t expecting them in places that have never been hit before and have no idea who will help us. FEMA is all but dead and our state is run by Republicans that hate the city. This is the canary in the coal mine.”

On his Substack he noted: “A tornado went through my town yesterday, and no one in this entire country is going to help us….and the ones that should are fine with that.”

Monday morning he added, “here we are two days later and not one peep from Trump or even a response from FEMA at all. 5 dead, 5,000 homes damaged, $1.6B in damage and not even a s—– Truth social post or email from FEMA.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes

Image via Reuters

President Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge over the weekend that tariffs function as a tax ultimately paid by American consumers—not foreign manufacturers—despite years of claiming the opposite. The remark sparked ridicule and forced the White House to scramble to clarify his comments, after Trump publicly demanded that Walmart “eat the tariffs” instead of passing the costs on to shoppers.

“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump wrote on Saturday. “Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

When asked about Trump’s weekend remarks, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday (video below) that the “reality is, as the president has always maintained, Chinese producers will be absorbing the cost of these tariffs, and that is why China was so quick to hustle to the negotiating table with the United States of America. They need our markets, they need our consumers.”

READ MORE: ‘Bonanza for Billionaires’: Johnson Celebrates ‘Victory’ of Medicaid-Gutting Tax Cuts Bill

Last week, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a press release: “We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.”

Leavitt was quickly criticized.

“The reality is the president was rage tweeting Walmart less than 48 hours ago after they announced price hikes due to Trump’s tariffs. Just constant lies from this White House,” commented Democratic pollster and strategist Matt McDermott.

The White House’s efforts also came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday admitted that some tariffs “may get passed on to consumers.”

READ MORE: ‘None of That Is True’: RFK Jr. Fact-Checked Repeatedly in Heated Senate Hearing

NBC News on Monday reported that Trump taking on Walmart “over tariff price hikes” is setting up a “potential showdown” with the retail industry.

“The standoff between the president and Walmart now looms over the other major retailers reporting earnings this week, which include Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target as well as the TJ Maxx and Marshall’s parent company TJX. These companies may have initially felt Walmart’s signals about price hikes gave them cover to enact their own cost increases — but Trump’s remarks now put them at risk of also being targeted by the president.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Leavitt: “The reality is, as the president has always maintained, the Chinese producers will be absorbing the cost of these tariffs.” pic.twitter.com/ellw0XQp8v

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2025

READ MORE: ‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes

Image via Reuters

Speaker Mike Johnson is declaring “victory” after House Republicans pushed  President Donald Trump’s massive tax cuts bill through committee in a late Sunday night vote, in what one Democrat called a “bonanza for billionaires.” The bill, 1116 pages as of Wednesday, guts Medicaid, stripping health care from millions. It plows through a wishlist of hard-core GOP priorities, including opening up public lands to aggressive logging, drilling, and mining. It increases border funding, shuts down the U.S. Department of Education, and forces Congress to re-vote on major federal legislation every five years.

Four House Republican hardliners agreed to not block what President Trump is calling his “big, beautiful bill,” allowing it to pass the Budget Committee after GOP leadership agreed to “speed up” the cuts to Medicaid, according to Bloomberg News.

“Representative Chip Roy of Texas, one of the four hardliners, said party leaders agreed to move up Medicaid work requirements expected to kick millions of beneficiaries off the health coverage program and more quickly phase out clean energy tax breaks,” Bloomberg reported. “But Roy still expressed dissatisfaction, saying the measure ‘does not yet meet the moment.’ Roy and the House Freedom Caucus said in posts on X they are hoping to win additional cuts before the bill comes up for a vote on the House floor.”

READ MORE: ‘Lied Through His Teeth’: Senator Warns RFK Jr. Undermining Vaccine Will ‘Kill’ Kids

Speaker Johnson late Sunday night told reporters (video below) that Republicans are going to “protect Medicaid”—by enacting stronger work requirements that are expected to kick more than eight million Americans (some say more than ten million) off the health care program.

CNBC reported on Wednesday that “9.7 million to 14.4 million people would be at risk for losing Medicaid coverage in 2034 if they are unable to show they meet the work requirements, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.”

Saying he would “count … as a big win tonight” the passage of the bill, Johnson noted that “what our party stands for” is “to cut spending.”

“So this this will be a victory out of the committee tonight. Everybody will will make a vote that allows it to proceed, and that was my big request tonight,” Johnson said, telling reporters that “it’s the desire of every Republican, always has been to make work requirements real, and actionable as soon as possible.”

“The government is too large, it does too many things, and it does very little well,” Johnson claimed.

CNN’s Haley Talbot reported that Speaker Johnson said that the bill will hit the Rules Committee “Tuesday or Wednesday, and that Johnson hopes they can hold the floor vote by Thursday, “then recess.”

The Hill called Sunday’s vote an “unusual late-night vote,” but Democrats offered more descriptive language.

READ MORE: ‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes

“This bill that is being rammed through the Budget Committee in the dead of night on a weekend is a betrayal to the American people. It is just another bonanza for Billionaires. Don’t they have enough yet?” asked U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH).

“They are voting to reduce food to the hungry, by cutting back $300 Billion in SNAP funding for those struggling just to get by. Our nation is the richest nation on Earth. Surely we can and must do better than this cruel, damaging and harmful legislation,” Congresswoman Kaptur added. “When a handful of top billionaires in our nation hold half the wealth of our nation, that is too much to too few. The Billionaire class owns as much as the 160 million American and families in the bottom half of our population in the middle-class and working-class.”

“As the late President John F. Kennedy said,” she concluded, “‘if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.'”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Speaker Johnson says the bill will hit rules Cmte Tuesday or Wednesday

Johnson hopes they can hold the floor vote by THURSDAY

then recess pic.twitter.com/6PXHiAAxBI

— haley talbot (@haleytalbotcnn) May 19, 2025

READ MORE: ‘Significant Damage’: Walmart’s ‘Magnitude’ Warning to Consumers Spurs Trump Tariff Critics

Image via Shutterstock