It’s Trump versus the truth.
Former President Trump is known for stretching the truth on and off the campaign trail. In addition to his stances on the 2020 election results and immigrants eating pets, he’s now facing criticism for making widely disputed claims about the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene.
As misinformation circulates on social media about disaster relief, the Republican presidential nominee has been spreading some theories of his own. Unsurprisingly, most of Trump’s accusations are directed toward his November opponents: Vice President Kamala Harris and former rival President Biden.
So, we decided to separate fact from fiction when it comes to Trump’s comments about the deadly tropical storm and how they might actually be hindering recovery efforts.
Trump claims Biden didn’t respond to calls from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp
False: During a press conference on Sept. 30, Trump claimed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had “been calling the president, but has not been able to get him,” when, in fact, it was the other way around. Biden was the one who had called Kemp but wasn’t able to get through. Though Kemp admitted that he initially missed the president’s call, he called him right back, and the two were able to connect.
“He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?'” Kemp told reporters, referring to Biden, the same day that Trump said the opposite. “And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We will work through the federal process. He added that the president told him to call him directly if he needed more resources as the state continued sorting through the damage left behind from Hurricane Helene.
Trump and Kemp toured the devastation in the state three days later. Kemp didn’t take questions from reporters, likely to avoid contradicting Trump while standing beside him. However, during public remarks, Kemp noted that Biden approved all of his recommended disaster declarations for Georgia counties — the necessary step for the federal government to cover any storm-related costs.
Trump suggests the federal government and state officials are neglecting Republican areas
False: In a Truth Social post on Sept. 28, Trump wrote about the damage in North Carolina: “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.”
While there has undoubtedly been some criticism of the disaster response, there’s no evidence that the Biden administration systematically ignored the needs of Republican areas. In fact, Kemp and GOP governors in Virginia, South Carolina, and Tennessee have all thanked the federal government, specifically Biden, for the speedy response to the disaster. “I’m incredibly appreciative of the rapid response and the cooperation from the federal team at FEMA,” Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a press conference the same day that Trump made his accusation.
But there are some exceptions. For instance, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis refused to return calls from Biden and Harris because they reportedly “seemed political.”
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell warned that these claims are now preventing people from getting the help they need. “We’ve had the complete support of the state,” Criswell told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Oct. 6. We’ve had the local officials helping to push back on this dangerous, truly dangerous narrative that is creating this fear of trying to reach out and help us or to register for help.”
Trump says there are “no helicopters, no rescue” in North Carolina
False: Trump initially made this claim while criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris for attending fundraisers in California just two days after Hurricane Helene hit. “Kamala wined and dined in San Francisco, and all of the people in North Carolina — no helicopters, no rescue — it’s just — what’s happened there is very bad,” the former president said at a rally on Oct. 3 in Pennsylvania.
However, The Washington Post reported that helicopters had been routinely flying over North Carolina in the wake of the hurricane, though some residents died before they could be rescued, and others were left stranded. In fact, the North Carolina National Guard later announced that its own aircrafts “completed 146 flight missions, resulting in the rescue of 538 people and 150 pets.”
Trump claims Biden and Harris received “poor grades” on their hurricane response
False: The former president took to Truth Social to claim that Biden and Harris “are universally being given POOR GRADES for the way that they are handling the Hurricane, especially in North Carolina.”
That doesn’t have a shred of truth: The Biden administration has been praised by state and local leaders on both sides of the political aisle. During a press conference, Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster told reporters that federal assistance had “been superb.”
As seen in other affected parts of the country, Biden declared a federal disaster for the Palmetto State, which allows federal money to cover damage related to Hurricane Helene. Plus, FEMA is on the ground to help coordinate response efforts with local officials.
Trump says Harris spent “all her FEMA money” on housing for illegal migrants
False: Trump has repeatedly claimed that FEMA is having money issues and a certain opponent is to blame. At a Michigan rally on Oct. 3, Trump claimed that “Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants, many of whom should not be in our country.”
Though Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that FEMA’s disaster relief efforts are facing a cash crunch, those financial issues aren’t because of money going to migrants. Since 2023, FEMA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have given more than $1 billion to communities taking in migrants, but that’s separate from the funding pot of almost $20 billion that’s used to respond to hurricanes and other natural disasters. The problem is officials have just enough to address immediate search-and-rescue needs following Hurricane Helene, but the clean-up could cost billions more. And with yet another potentially destructive hurricane on the way, the agency doesn’t have enough funding to address additional storms.
FEMA set up a fact-checking page in response to rumors, stating that “no money is being diverted from disaster response needs.” The agency has also explicitly denied the claims, with Criswell calling them “frankly ridiculous.”
“This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” Criswell told Stephanopoulos during the same ABC over the weekend. “It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do.”
