It’s always a case of projection with Donald J. Trump. This time, he’s been lying about President Biden and Kamala Harris’s response in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene while politicizing it at a devastating time for Americans in the Southeast.
At nearly midnight, Trump rage posted this lie on Truth Social: “A REALLY BAD RESPONSE TO HURRICANE FROM KAMALA AND JOE!”
President Joe Biden announced Monday that he would visit flood-ravaged North Carolina to survey the damage from Hurricane Helene. He had a few words to say about Trump’s lies over his hurricane response.
Via Politico:
Biden, seated behind the Resolute Desk at the White House, appeared visibly frustrated when asked about the criticism from his predecessor.
“He’s lying,” Biden said. “I don’t know why he does this. And the reason I get so angry about it — I don’t care what he says about me — but I care what he communicates to the people that are in need. He implies that we’re not doing everything possible. We are.”
Biden said he would visit Raleigh on Wednesday for a meeting with the Emergency Operations Center and would take an aerial tour of the damage in the area. He also said he hoped to travel to Georgia and Florida “as soon as possible.”
Trump’s response to natural disasters during his time in office was awful. He spent months slamming the Puerto Rican government, tweeting in 2019 that “all their local politicians do is complain & ask for more money.” Trump withheld $20 billion in aid for the U.S. territory following the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, one of the deadliest natural disasters in over 100 years in this country. He finally visited the devastated island and threw paper towels at the survivors. He threatened to withhold wildfire assistance for California.
The former President posted with zero evidence “They have left Americans to drown in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and elsewhere in the South.” But it was Trump, not Biden, that denied 99% of Hurricane Matthew aid requested by N.C. in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
Trump lied just hours after Biden called Republican Georgia Governor Kemp, claiming that the President hadn’t spoken to Kemp.
It’s very obvious why Trump withheld aid to certain areas. Still, if you hear him tell it, his response would have been better even though the Biden administration has rapidly responded at this critical time for the Southeast.
