The joint editorial board of North Carolina’s two largest newspapers, The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer, rebuked former President Donald Trump on Saturday over his false claims about the federal response to Hurricane Helene.
Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, and a number of his Republican allies have been pushing unsubstantiated claims this week concerning the response of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to Helene, which left at least 225 people dead and dealt massive damage to infrastructure when it ripped through the Southeast late last month.
The former president falsely claimed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was diverting disaster relief money to illegal migrants.
Trump said during a rally in Michigan on Thursday that Harris, who has no direct control over FEMA or any other federal agencies, had spent “all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants.”
In reality, some FEMA money has been spent to house migrants but the funds are part of a program that is entirely separate and unrelated to the FEMA disaster fund, which the agency says is fully funded to deal with the current crisis.
Trump also falsely claimed that Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, with whom he held a joint news conference concerning disaster relief efforts on Friday, was unable to speak with Biden about federal disaster assistance over the phone.
In an op-ed published by the newspapers on Saturday titled, “Shame on Donald Trump for worsening NC’s Helene tragedy with political lies” the joint editorial board critiqued Trump’s remarks for trying to benefit himself politically instead of bringing the community together.
“This is not a situation to capitalize on for political gain. But former President Donald Trump has politicized the situation at every turn, spreading falsehoods and conspiracies that fracture the community instead of bringing it together,” the editorial boards wrote.
According to the editorial board, “the worst examples” of this is a Truth Social post this week in which Trump claimed that the federal government and Democratic state officials were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas” in the aftermath of Helene.
However, there does not appear to be any credible evidence to support Trump’s claim, with Republican governors in affected states having instead thanked the government for a prompt disaster response.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s spokesperson via email for comment.
Former President Donald Trump is seen on October 4 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The joint editorial board of North Carolina’s two largest newspapers, The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer, rebuked Trump on Saturday over his false claims about the federal response to Hurricane Helene.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
In addition, the board noted that Trump on Monday said that Kemp was “having a hard time getting the president on the phone,” with the former president adding that the federal government was “not being responsive” regarding the disaster.
However, Kemp had directly contradicted Trump hours earlier, saying that he had spoken with Biden over the phone last week when the president pledged disaster assistance and told Kemp that he could “call him directly” for any additional help.
“There’s no evidence to support any of those ridiculous claims. And by every indication, state and federal agencies have been working to help people in need…the people of North Carolina have not been left out to dry. Their government has not abandoned them,” the editorial board wrote.
It also warned that Trump’s remarks are harmful, stating that misinformation is the “most unhelpful thing any politician can do,” adding that this time is not meant as a “campaign opportunity” when “unity is paramount.”
“Trump’s claims are as hypocritical as they are harmful. Let’s be clear: Western North Carolina is not a political football. This is not a campaign opportunity. The most unhelpful thing any politician—or anyone else—can do right now is spread misinformation and tell people that their government isn’t doing anything to help them,” the joint editorial board wrote. “Sowing the seeds of political division is always an unnecessary and tiresome endeavor. But doing so in times of great need, when unity is paramount, is particularly shameful.”
Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of around 140 miles per hour near Perry, Florida, in the state’s Big Bend region. The storm also brought storm surges and torrential rain that threatened several dams and flooded Asheville, North Carolina. Over a week later, damage and devastation remain.
Officials have reported at least 225 lives were lost across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas as of midday Saturday. While the number of missing people remains unclear, officials said Friday in Buncombe County, North Carolina, that there are about 75 active missing persons cases remaining, as the search for many others continues across several states.
Meanwhile, Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and Trump are in an extremely close race in North Carolina, a crucial battleground state. While the state has a history of backing the Republican candidate for president, it has elected a Democratic governor in six of the last seven races. As of Sunday morning, Trump is narrowly ahead of Harris with a 0.8 point lead with 48.1 to 47.3 percent, according to the FiveThirtyEight’s polling average.
