Former President Donald Trump has been spreading lies and distortions about the federal response to Hurricane Helene, particularly targeting Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. Trump falsely claimed that Biden had not answered calls from Georgia’s governor, when in fact Kemp had missed a call from Biden and had successfully connected with him later. Trump also made baseless claims about anti-Republican bias in the North Carolina response, despite lacking evidence to support his allegations.
Trump further spread false information by claiming that the Biden-Harris response to Hurricane Helene had received universally negative reviews, when in reality, there were positive reviews from various state and local leaders. Another false claim made by Trump was that Harris had spent all her FEMA money on housing illegal migrants, which was debunked as being completely untrue.
In addition, Trump repeated a debunked claim that $1 billion had been stolen from FEMA for migrants and had gone missing. He also falsely stated that the federal government was only offering $750 in aid to people who lost their homes in the hurricane, when in reality survivors can apply for additional forms of assistance worth thousands of dollars. Furthermore, Trump falsely claimed that there were no helicopters or rescue efforts in North Carolina, despite the presence of numerous government and private aircraft involved in rescue and aid missions.
Trump’s persistent spread of misinformation about the federal response to Hurricane Helene has contributed to a climate of confusion and mistrust surrounding the handling of the disaster. By using his powerful platform to endorse or invent false claims, Trump has further divided public opinion on the issue, despite the efforts of state and federal agencies to provide accurate and timely information to those affected by the hurricane. The spread of misinformation only serves to hinder the recovery efforts and potentially harm the individuals and communities impacted by the natural disaster.
