Trump's Truth Social post skipped Gov. Evers and gave no counties or programs. His last Wisconsin aid announcement ended in a partial declaration that left Manitowoc and three other counties without federal infrastructure money.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will approve $17.9 million in federal disaster aid for the July 27 storms that sent an EF-3 tornado through Menasha and Appleton, announcing the money in a Truth Social post that opened with his endorsement of Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany.1,2 The post didn't mention Gov. Tony Evers, who asked for a federal disaster declaration six weeks ago, and it didn't say which counties or which FEMA programs the money would cover.2,3
"I told Tom that I will be approving 17.9 Million Dollars," Trump wrote after describing a phone call with Tiffany, the Republican congressman running against Democrat David Crowley to succeed the term-limited Evers.2,4 The post also said "See you soon Wisconsin," but the president didn't say whether he plans a visit.2,5
Evers answered on social media that "Wisconsinites will believe it when we see it" and accused Trump and Tiffany of continuing to play politics with emergency aid. He ended the post with an expletive built on Trump's "Complete and Total" catchphrase.3
Evers filed the request Aug. 26.6,7 It sought FEMA individual assistance for households in Forest, Outagamie, Vilas and Winnebago counties, public assistance for emergency work and infrastructure repairs in Vilas and Winnebago counties, and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program money statewide.6,7
Joint assessments by FEMA and Wisconsin Emergency Management counted 2,346 damaged residential buildings, including 84 destroyed and 412 with major damage, at an estimated $8.2 million.6 Damage to public property added $13.8 million.1,6 Trump's $17.9 million matches neither figure nor their roughly $22 million total, and his post didn't explain how it was calculated.2
Menasha took the worst of it. Evers' letter to Trump counted more than 660 damaged homes in the city, 140 of them unsafe and likely headed for demolition, and nearly 240 damaged rental properties.6 The letter said the hardest-hit census tracts have a high concentration of uninsured homes and a large renter population.6 The storm damaged a Menasha elementary school, totaled a fire station in the village of Fox Crossing and knocked Menasha's water treatment plant and high-lift pumping station out of service.6 Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz has called it probably the biggest natural disaster in Northeast Wisconsin's history.8
Trump used the same format this summer. He announced $22.6 million for Wisconsin's April storms on Truth Social after a call with Tiffany, again without naming Evers.9 At the time, Evers' office said it had no formal notice and that FEMA didn't have the paperwork. When WPR asked the White House for details, a press account replied, "Refer you to the TRUTH."9
The formal declaration that followed was partial. FEMA approved individual assistance for residents of 19 counties, including Brown, Manitowoc, Outagamie and Winnebago, plus the Oneida Nation, and public assistance for nine counties and the Oneida Nation.10 It denied public assistance for Bayfield, Manitowoc, Marathon and Racine counties and rejected the statewide hazard mitigation request, with a FEMA official writing that damage in those counties lacked the "severity and magnitude" to warrant federal aid.10,11
Evers called that denial "a slap in the face" and appealed. Manitowoc County Executive Tyler Martell backed the appeal, saying the county and its municipalities spent heavily responding to historic flooding in April.11 Bayfield County's emergency management director said the denial would push storm costs onto local levies that otherwise pay for EMS and fire service.11
The pattern predates this year. After the August 2025 flooding in the Milwaukee area, FEMA approved more than $200 million in aid to households but refused public assistance for Door, Grant, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties, then denied the state's appeal in February.11
A POLITICO E&E News review of roughly 2,500 disaster declarations found that in the first 14 months of his second term, Trump approved 23% of requests from states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators and 89% of requests from states with a Republican governor and two Republican senators.12 In his first term, the rates were 93% and 89%.12 Wisconsin, with Evers and a Senate delegation split between Democrat Tammy Baldwin and Republican Ron Johnson, falls in the mixed category, which accounted for two of the nine times Trump denied public assistance after FEMA documented damage above its threshold.6,12
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told E&E News that "there is no politicization" in the president's disaster decisions and that his reviews are more thorough than past administrations'.12 Federal law gives the president sole authority to approve or deny a declaration, and those decisions can't be challenged in court.12 FEMA's public assistance program pays at least 75% of approved emergency and repair costs, leaving the rest to state and local governments.12
A formal FEMA declaration would list the designated counties and the types of assistance approved, which Trump's post did not.2,13 After the April declaration, FEMA told residents of designated counties to file insurance claims first and then apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362.13
Menasha is planning a longer recovery of its own. The city's Menasha Strong Recovery Program is set to begin in January, and a 14-question survey asking residents about housing, small businesses, stormwater and street repairs is open through Oct. 26.14
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