The Daily Show host Jon Stewart had some heated words for Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville after he said Los Angeles "doesn't deserve" federal assistance unless they change their policies.
Firefighters in Ventura County worked to contain a new brush fire in the Santa Clara River bottom today as powerful Santa Ana winds raised the risk of additional blazes across Southern California, currently facing some of the worst fires in the state's history.
The strongest gusts of this latest wind event were forecast for Tuesday night, prompting Los Angeles County officials to urge residents to brace for potential power outages and prepare for possible evacuations.
The dire forecast follows a devastating week of high winds and dry conditions that fueled wildfires across the region, leaving at least 24 people dead and around two dozen still missing. The blazes have displaced more than 100,000 people, with entire neighborhoods reduced to ashes.
Amid all this, several Republicans have dismissed the disaster, saying that disaster relief funds for California should be contingent on their willingness to adopt GOP policies—and Stewart, who rolled multiple clips of GOP figures saying they want “strings attached” to this aid, had sharp words for Tuberville in particular.
Tuberville, who spoke to Newsmax, says:
“They [Californians] don’t deserve anything, to be honest with you, unless they show us they’re going to make some changes."
To that, Stewart said:
"What the f**k is wrong with you? Really, senator from Alabama? The state near the bottom in math, reading and test scores?"
"Next time you get hit by a f**king hurricane, why don’t we have a little parent-teacher conference to see that if you got your scores up you would get the money. Or actually, let’s not do it because you’ll get the money anyway because we’re not f**king psychos."
"That is psychotic. There’s something wrong with you, and here’s the thing, I can do ‘The Daily Show’ thing and run down all the congresspeople and senators on the right calling for conditions on disaster aid that absolutely had the opposite view when it was their state on the line.”
After pointing out that many of the same GOP lawmakers imposing conditions on aid to California had readily sought federal funds when their own states faced natural disasters, he stated:
"Shut the f**k up… Red states are always the tragic victims of circumstances outside of their control, and Democrats always vote for their aid. Whereas blue state disasters are a function of their flawed morality and policy. And if we help blue state survivors, what message will that send? What lesson will they learn?”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Others also voiced similar criticisms.
Again, well said, Jon. Aid with strings attached…? The ‘United’ States of America is looking a bit fragile at the moment. Natural disasters should bring a community together, not to find a reason to punish the people for the way they vote. The GOP and their leader have completely lost their mind..
— Savage (@savage1033.bsky.social) January 14, 2025 at 1:36 AM
I'm beginning to wonder how many billions of dollars that were paid in federal taxes by Californians are being lost while Trump and the Republicans taunt and jeer. We know Republicans have no hearts and their response to California shows again they also have no brains.
— BlueDotFlorida (@kmiller919.bsky.social) January 14, 2025 at 3:44 AM
GOP = unimaginable cruelty
— Dookdukebuzz (@dookdukebuzz.bsky.social) January 14, 2025 at 5:34 AM
If you stop and think about it, hypocrisy may be the one consistent party value the GOP has maintained for the last 50 years.
— racingflamingo.bsky.social (@racingflamingo.bsky.social) January 13, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Calling out “hypocrisy” isn’t enough. Massive boycotts of red states by everyone living in CA and every industry in CA have to happen now. The Republicans will get worse and worse until someone forces them to stop. They have got absolutely everything they’ve wanted so far.
— mxhrad (@mxhrad.bsky.social) January 14, 2025 at 2:04 AM
The Republican behavior is abhorrent. Whatever their agenda is it won’t work everyone I know is disgusted by their behavior To act that way durning a disaster is cruel . We will rebuild stronger and more beautiful. The humanity we have shown each other is brighter than any hate . God Bless LA 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
— PeaceLuvAnDebbie (@peaceluvandebbie.bsky.social) January 14, 2025 at 10:06 AM
I am sickened to hear Republicans holding federal disaster funds over the heads of US citizens. This is what the authoritarian governments in Russia and China do. If you are not in -the- party, you’re a second class citizen.
— Jody Badillo (@iamjodybadillo.bsky.social) January 14, 2025 at 10:29 AM
When these evil people’s states get hit by natural disasters, they should get zero, nothing!
— louiecutiepie.bsky.social (@louiecutiepie.bsky.social) January 13, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Indeed, multiple far-right politicians have expressed little concern for the fires, with one in particular, House Republican Representative Warren Davidson, saying that aid is less important than sticking it to California for historically opposing GOP policies, suggesting the state should comply if it wants help from the federal government.
He stated:
"People are losing their home insurance for fire because of policies the state government is doing. If they want the money, then there should be consequences where they have to change their policies." ...
"California wants the money without changing the policies that are making the problem bad or worse and I don't see how Republicans could possibly support that. I mean, we support the people that are plagued by disaster but we have to put pressure on the California government to change course here.”
And yet Davidson was one of the leading figures demanding aid following the 2023 East Palestine train derailment, a chemical spill that prompted residents within a 1-mile radius of the accident to be evacuated. The accident triggered emergency responses from teams in Ohio and West Virginia as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Even though Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg led the disaster response from the start, Davidson suggested "there’s a long list of impeachment criteria" Buttigieg would meet over how he handled the derailment.
To date, Buttigieg has not been impeached—though he has noted that the derailment was bound to happen after, as Politico reported, the Trump administration "withdrew an Obama-era proposal to require faster brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials, ended regular rail safety audits of railroads, and mothballed a pending rule requiring freight trains to have at least two crew members."
