The former president’s disinformation is getting in the way of disaster response.
Since Hurricane Helene decimated parts of western North Carolina last week, former President Donald Trump has seized on the tragedy to perpetuate lies about the federal response, sowing chaos and confusion as officials scramble to help those affected.
In recent days, Trump has repeatedly and falsely suggested that the federal government is purposely neglecting areas with Republican voters, that it is funneling emergency aid to migrants instead of disaster response, and that it’s giving hurricane victims just $750 in support.
“I’ll be there shortly, but don’t like the reports that I’m getting about the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas,” he wrote on Truth Social on September 30.
None of these claims are true, but federal officials say Trump’s disinformation — which has been condemned by regional Republican leaders — could further harm the relief effort, and deter people who need aid from trying to pursue it. It is certainly making aid distribution more difficult, with disaster recovery officials spending valuable time fighting lies, including by putting up an agency website to combat them. Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said the degree of disinformation is at a point that [she’s] “never seen before.”
So far, Helene is estimated to have damaged thousands of homes and businesses and taken more than 220 lives, washing out dozens of roads and entire towns. FEMA, which is the government entity dedicated to disaster relief, has also said that it’s provided upward of $210 million in aid to victims of Helene, including 15.6 million meals and 13.9 million liters of water.
Trump’s falsehoods come as he and others on the right — including Tesla’s Elon Musk — are attempting to use the recent natural disaster as a political wedge in the 2024 presidential election.
Below are some of the lies Trump has elevated about Helene and what we know about what’s actually happened. Trump’s lies, debunked
Claim: The federal government isn’t helping Republican areas of western North Carolina.
“They’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas,” Trump said in a Fox News interview on September 30. “They’re not getting water, they’re not getting anything.”
Reality: FEMA administrator Criswell has described these allegations as “frankly ridiculous and just plain false.”
Data from the agency shows that it distributed significant funding to states that voted for Trump in 2020, as well as those that didn’t.
