Washington
CNN
—
Former President Donald Trump offered a barrage of lies and distortions about the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helen.
While various misinformation about the response has circulated widely without Trump’s involvement, the Republican presidential nominee has been one of the nation’s leading deceivers on the matter. Over the course of six days, Trump used his powerful megaphone to endorse or find false or unsubstantiated claims in public comments and social media posts.
The main targets of his hurricane-related dishonesty were Vice President Kamala Harris, her opponent in the November presidential election, and President Joe Biden.
Monday: Trump falsely claims Biden did not return Georgia governor’s calls
Trump visited Georgia on Monday He said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp: “He called the president and couldn’t get through.”
It was immediately clear that Trump’s claim was false. Kemp, a Republican, told reporters It was Kemp who initially missed the call from Biden and had no choice but to say that he had spoken to Biden the day before, the previous Monday.
Kemp told reporters that he successfully invited Biden back. Kemp added: “He was like, ‘Hey, what do you want?’ I told him, you know, ‘We’ve got what we need. Let’s go through the federal process.’ He said we can call him directly if we need anything else, but we’ve had a great relationship with FEMA since a couple of days before the storm hit.
Monday: Trump cites unsubstantiated ‘reports’ of anti-Republican bias in North Carolina response
On a social media Position On Monday, Trump said of North Carolina: “I’ll be there soon, but I don’t like the news I’m getting about the federal government and the state’s Democratic governor, leaving without helping the people in the Republican areas.”
It’s not clear what “reports” Trump might have received, but there’s no apparent basis for the underlying claim that the Biden administration and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper are abandoning certain communities with malicious bias.
Trump No evidence was provided Later when a reporter pressed him.
Thursday: Trump falsely claims Biden-Harris response received ‘universal’ negative reviews
Trump wrote In a social media post on Thursday, Biden and Harris said they were “given poor grades globally for their handling of the hurricane, especially in North Carolina.”
That’s not even accurate. While the Biden administration’s response has certainly drawn criticism, it has been praised by various state and local leaders — including Republican Party Governors Some of the affected states and local leaders, including the Democratic governor of North Carolina, and the Democratic mayor of the hard-hit North Carolina city of Asheville.
For example, Republican South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster He said At a news conference Tuesday, calling the federal aid “fantastic,” both Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called and asked the state to let them know what it needed. McMaster also said FEMA Administrator Dean Criswell called.
Thursday: Trump falsely claims Harris spent his FEMA money to house illegal immigrants
Trump at a campaign rally in Michigan on Thursday requested “Kamala spent her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal immigrants, many of whom should not be in our country.” He added in his election conspiracy theory, to say“They stole FEMA money like they stole it from the bank so they can give it to their illegal immigrants to vote them out this season.”
This is false.
First, Trump’s notion that the Biden administration is implementing some sort of plan to get undocumented immigrants to vote illegally in the 2024 election has zero basis. Voting is a crime for non-citizens.
Second, there is zero basis for the claim that FEMA disaster assistance money for immigrant housing was stolen — by anyone, let alone Harris personally.
Congress appropriated $650 million in fiscal year 2024 funding project It assists state and local governments with displacement — and Advised US Customs and Border Protection will transfer $650 million to FEMA to administer the program. But this $650 million pot Totally different from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund; as Department of Homeland Security, White House And as independent observers noted this week, those are two separate things funded separately by Congress.
Congress appropriated more than $35 billion in disaster relief funding for fiscal year 2024. Official FEMA statistics.
Friday: Trump falsely claims $1 billion was ‘stolen’ from FEMA for immigrants, and ‘disappeared’
Although Trump’s Thursday claims about FEMA money and immigrants had already been rebutted by Friday, Trump He repeated the request to reporters At the very least twice Friday – then said it Again At a town hall event Friday night in North Carolina.
Saturday: Trump falsely claims the federal government will only give $750 to those who lost their homes
At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Trump strongly suggested that only $750 in federal aid would be given to Americans who lost their homes in the hurricane.
“They are giving $750 to people whose homes were swept away. We send billions of dollars overseas that many people have never heard of. They offer $750. They’re destroyed, these people are destroyed,” Trump He said. He added, “Think about it: We give hundreds of billions of dollars overseas, and we give $750 to North Carolina.”
Trump’s claim is false. As FEMA explained earlier in the week On social media And on a web page It was created to combat misinformation about the answer, $750 is just that Immediately, in advance Aid survivors can meet basic needs such as food, water, infant formula and emergency supplies. Survivors are eligible to apply for additional forms of assistance, such as temporary housing and payments for home repairs that can cost thousands of dollars; The The current maximum amount for home repair assistance, for example, is $42,500.
During Harris’ visit to Georgia on Wednesday, she He said“Of the federal relief and assistance we provide, FEMA provides $750 to people who need to meet immediate needs like food, infant formula, etc. You can apply now. But he added a few minutes later, “FEMA gives people tens of thousands of dollars more to help them cover home repairs, and when they have insurance, they can deduct insurance and hotel expenses.”
It is also important to note that this cyclone relief for individual citizens is separate from the central government’s cyclone relief to state governments. For example, Central Transport Department announced on Saturday It immediately announced $100 million to North Carolina’s Department of Transportation “to help pay the costs of immediate emergency work resulting from Hurricane Helen flood damage.” Buttigieg added that this emergency funding will be “followed by additional federal resources.”
Saturday: Trump falsely claims ‘no helicopters, no rescue’ in North Carolina
Trump criticized Harris for attending a political fundraiser in California on the last weekend of September. He said At a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania: “Kamala was wined and dined in San Francisco, and all the people in North Carolina — no helicopters, no rescue — that’s just — what happened there was awful.”
This statement about North Carolina is false. Numerous government and private helicopters and other aircraft were involved in rescue and assistance efforts in North Carolina, although some residents died before being rescued and a significant number of residents remained missing or stranded for days.
North Carolina National Guard announced on Thursday Its own air assets have “completed 146 flights resulting in the rescue of 538 people and 150 pets.” The Washington Post reported on Friday: “The drone of helicopters has become routine across western North Carolina in the wake of Helen. National Guard and civilian planes now fly over the skies of a region where roads and bridges have been destroyed and people are trapped. Helicopters deliver supplies, pick up people in need of rescue, drop off firefighters and search and rescue teams and radio for help to others easily accessible from the ground.
CNN reported Saturday that air traffic in western North Carolina has increased by 300% in the past seven days due to hurricane relief efforts, according to Becca Gallus, director of North Carolina’s Division of Aviation. State He said In an official statement on Saturday: “A total of 53 search and rescue teams from North Carolina and beyond, with more than 1,600 personnel involved in search and rescue operations during the event. Search and rescue teams have interacted with 5,400 people including aids, evacuations and rescues.
