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Andrea Austria/Media Matters

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Right-wing media falsely insist there is no federal response to Hurricane Helene, while praising Trump for visiting victims in Georgia

The MAGA crowd is claiming that the administration is purposely ignoring Southern Appalachia, despite extensive aid efforts

Special Programs Climate & Energy

Written by Ilana Berger

Research contributions from Allison Fisher

Published

  • Right-wing and MAGA influencers are falsely insisting that the Biden administration is ignoring the millions of Americans who have been impacted by intense flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, while lauding Trump for visiting and bringing aid to those affected in Georgia on September 30. 

    After Helene made landfall in Florida on September 26 as a Category 4 storm, the Biden administration approved federal assistance to supplement state and local efforts in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, and Georgia.

    Dismissing these efforts, right-wing media have argued that the administration is more interested in giving aid to Ukraine than Appalachia, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is too concerned with equity to handle the aftermath, and that the Biden administration isn’t doing more for hurricane victims because they are primarily white, Republican voters.

    The storm has caused mass destruction and killed at least 133 people across six states, while as many as 600 haven’t been accounted for. In Western North Carolina, many residents do not have power, cellular service, or drinking water. 

    Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to visit Georgia on October 2, while Biden said he is planning to visit North Carolina on the same day. 

  • The Biden administration has approved disaster declarations in affected states and counties that are allowing them to receive additional federal aid.

    • In North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, Biden has approved Major Disaster Declarations, making a number of federal assistance programs available to those states. In the most impacted counties in these states, both public assistance and individual assistance programs are available. This could mean up to $750 of federal aid for families or individuals with serious needs like food, shelter, or medication. Public assistance, according to FEMA, is also for “state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.” [FEMA.gov, accessed 9/30/24; FEMA.gov, 9/29/24; SCEMD.org, 9/30/24; FEMA.gov, 9/29/24; Alabama Reflector, 10/1/24]
       
    • In North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Virginia, Biden also approved Emergency Declarations that are meant to “supplement state and local efforts in providing emergency services." While Major Disaster Declarations are only for natural disasters, Emergency Declarations can provide more federal assistance for any occasion that governors and the president feel poses a threat to public health, safety, or property. [FEMA.gov, accessed 9/30/24; GEMA.georgia.gov, 9/26/24; FEMA.gov, 9/29/24; The Tennessean, 9/28/24; FEMA.gov  9/26/24;  FEMA.gov, 9/27/24; FEMA.gov, 9/26/24; FEMA.gov; 9/25/24]
       
    • On September 29, the Biden administration released a fact sheet outlining the administration’s “continued response efforts to Hurricane Helene,” noting that tens of thousands of state and federal personnel are helping victims of the storm across several states. The administration wrote that 50,000 personnel from across the country and Canada traveled to help fix power outages, 3,300 personnel are helping allocate federal resources and carry out search and rescue, and 200 medical responders are providing health services.  [Whitehouse.gov, 9/29/24]
       
    • Biden has said he may ask Congress to pass additional disaster aid that was excluded from the recent stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. According to Politico, the bill, which passed on September 25, did not include “a $10 billion supplemental infusion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency after congressional leaders capitulated to the House’s most conservative fiscal hawks.” [The New York Times, 9/30/24; Politico, 9/26/24]

  • MAGA influencers made the baseless claim that the federal response to the hurricane is lacking.

    • Newsmax host and MAGA influencer Todd Starnes has repeatedly claimed that the federal government has abandoned those impacted by Hurricane Helene, saying that “many towns and cities have yet to see any disaster relief.” He also suggested that the so-called lack of response is because those impacted are mostly Republican, saying that “Western North Carolina is just too Conservative and too Caucasian for FEMA to care” and asking if the reason the government hasn’t done more is “because most of the people there are not Haitians or … because they are mostly are Republicans?” [Twitter/X, 9/30/24, 9/30/24, 9/30/24]
       
    • Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and former Fox News writer Blake Neff told viewers that Harris would favor Black communities in disaster recovery and promoted speculation that “the feds are doing nothing” because the voters affected are Republican. Neff, who was fired from Fox for posting racist and sexist content online, falsely said that Harris “believes that the aid that you offer should be doled out, as you say, based on characteristics like skin color rather than destruction.” Kirk then said, “It’s tempting to say the federal government’s doing nothing — I mean, they’re doing something. They did issue some warnings. However, this is definitely being underplayed by the media.” Finally, Kirk read a message purportedly from a “friend in North Carolina” who claimed that the “feds are doing nothing.” The message also noted that “90% of the impacted voters here are Republican voters. Makes you wonder if they’re being forgotten for a reason.” [Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 9/30/24; CNN, 7/11/20]
       
    • Attacking a photo of Harris shared by her campaign along with a response to the devastation in North Carolina, InfoWars host Owen Shroyer wrote on X: “This photo is the epitome of the Biden Harris Hurricane response. Blank pieces of paper, headphones not plugged in, a halfass photo opp to appear like they're doing something when they really aren't.” [Twitter/X, 9/30/24]
       
    • Right-wing account Libs of TikTok suggested that the federal response to Helene “has been a disaster” because on FEMA’s website, the agency lists as one of its goals instilling “equity as a foundation of emergency management.” “In case you’re wondering why the response to Hurricane Helene has been a disaster… Fema’s goal 1 is to instill equity as a foundation of emergency management. This is real.” [Twitter/X, 9/30/24]
       
    • The X accounts RNC Research and I Meme Therefore I Am shared a video clip falsely suggesting that the Biden administration was not providing federal aid to victims. The post suggested that when asked about additional aid for those impacted, Biden simply said, “No.” In reality, he approved aid and  also said, “We have pre-planned a significant amount of it even though they didn’t ask for it yet.” [Twitter/X, 9/29/24, 9/29/24, 9/29/24]
       
    • On X, the Trump War Room account falsely claimed Biden “told reporters today that the people impacted were not going to receive any additional aid from the government.” The account wrote: “Kamala Harris addresses the horrific damage of Hurricane Helene from a campaign stop 2,000 miles away in Las Vegas. Joe Biden told reporters today that the people impacted were not going to receive any additional aid from the government. Absolutely disgusting.” [Twitter/X, 9/29/24]

       

    • Right-wing influencer Raw Egg Nationalist suggested on X that “victims of Hurricane Helene aren’t getting the aid they need” because “Kamala Harris thinks that aid for floods, hurricanes, tornados, & fires should be distributed based on race.” The account was amplifying a post from End Wokeness, which featured a clip of Harris talking about disaster aid and equity. [Twitter/X, 9/30/24, 9/27/24]
       
    • Referring to a 2023 fire on the island of Maui that left 100 people dead, far-right conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich claimed that “North Carolina is being abandoned like it’s Maui.” He added: “This is the Biden administration at work. Kamala Harris wants it to continue for four more years.” [Twitter/X, 9/29/24; The New York Times, 2/6/24]
       
    • Cernovich also wrote, “They let Maui burn, they let Asheville drown, can the country survive four more years of this?” [Twitter/X, 9/29/24]
       
    • Former Trump adviser and frequent Fox News guest Stephen Miller: “Kamala used every available government resource to airlift and evacuate 500 thousand Haitian illegals to the United States. But she couldn’t lift a finger to rescue drowning Americans in Asheville.” [Twitter/X, 9/29/24]
       
    • Far-right commentator Jack Posobiec shared a video depicting the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, asking, “Where is the military in any of these videos to help the people of North Carolina?” [Twitter/X, 9/30/24]
       
    • Posobiec also wrote, “Maybe the mayor of Asheville, NC can put on a green sweatsuit so the Harris-Biden admin actually sends them some aid,” referring to an outfit donned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he visited Congress in 2022. [Twitter/X, 9/29/24; The New York Times, 12/22/22]
       
    • Daily Wire host Matt Walsh wrote: “Unfortunately the North Carolina flood victims are citizens of the USA, not Ukraine, so the Biden Administration sees no reason to help them.” The post has a community note labeling it false. [Twitter/X, 9/29/24]
       
    • Right-wing MAGA and conspiracy account End Wokeness complained that Biden has “no more aid for Hurricane Helene,” ignoring the aid that has been approved. It posted: "$2.4 billion aid to Ukraine" vs “No more aid for Hurricane Helene” - 3 days apart.” [Twitter/X, 9/29/24]
       
    • Sharing a video of a wreckage in North Carolina, Truth in Media founder Ben Swann wrote on X: “How quickly do you think we could rebuild North Carolina and Tennessee if the nearly $400 BILLION we’ve sent Ukraine could be spent here in America instead?” [Twitter/X, 9/29/24]
       
    • QAnon-supporting Telegram account BioClandestine, which is run by conspiracy theorist Jacob Creech, claimed, “The US Government are willing to send trillions of our tax dollars to fund conflicts all around the globe. But when the American People desperately need aid, the Biden regime are nowhere to be found…Anyways, here is a completely unrelated painting from the French Revolution.” [Telegram, 9/30/24; Vice, 4/12/22]
       
    • A post on the far-right social media platform Gab claimed that North Carolina has received “$0” while Israel and Ukraine have received billions. [Gab, 9/30/24]

     

  • Right-wing media praised Trump for visiting Georgia and criticized Biden and Harris for not going.

    • Meanwhile, emergency management experts say that when politicians swoop in directly after a disaster, it’s disruptive and diverts media attention and key resources. In 2016, when Trump visited Baton Rouge after major flooding, Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator at the time, told CNN, “We still have response operations going on. To move the president into a disaster area actually takes away some time from the response and the focus on” saving people. Emergency management expert Samantha Montano wrote on X, “When the president comes to town (even on a good day) everything has to shut down -- air space, roads, etc. First responders & other officials are reassigned to secure & facilitate the president's arrival. In a disaster that means search & rescue stops, help to survivors stops.” [Twitter/X, 9/30/24; Politico, 8/19/16; Fortune, 8/19/16]
       
    • On Fox News’ The Five, co-host Jesse Watters criticized Harris for not going to North Carolina and said because of Trump’s visit to Georgia, “when they ask in these polls which candidate cares more about people like you, he has completely closed the gap.” “She should have been in North Carolina,” said Watters of Harris. “Donald Trump is down there looking and occupying the presidential space. He is saying the right things, he’s delivering goods and services, he’s even calling on Elon Musk to restore the internet.” [Fox News, The Five, 9/30/24]
       
    • On Newsmax’s The Right Squad, former Trump White House official Mercedes Schlapp called Trump the comforter-in-chief for going to an impacted area in Georgia: “And I think for Donald Trump to basically say we're going to put politics aside. He joined forces with Rev. Franklin Graham from the Samaritan Purse to bring supplies and to really be what I call the comforter-in-chief. That is a critical role for a president. And I think the one thing you see with Kamala Harris and with Joe Biden, time and time again, is that they are completely out of touch with the American people." [Newsmax, The Right Squad, 9/30/24]
       
    • Fox’s Sean Hannity praised Trump for going to Georgia while criticizing Biden and Harris for not being in the disaster zone. He said, “This is by every measure a national emergency and today Donald Trump, he flew to Valdosta, Georgia, to witness the devastation up front and personal and firsthand and meet with disaster relief specialists from Franklin Graham himself and Samaritan’s Purse. … Noticeably missing on the ground, the current president, Joe Biden, vice president, Kamala Harris." [Fox News, Hannity, 9/30/24]
       
    • On Fox’s Jesse Watters Primetime, Trump senior adviser Jason Miller suggested that because Trump went to Georgia, “for millions of Americans, President Trump is still the leader of this country.” He added: “It's not Joe Biden. He's at the beach. It's not Kamala Harris. She's in San Francisco at a fundraiser, raising money. The person who showed up, partnered up with Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse, fantastic organization, someone who is actively helping to raise money online for these victims right now, is President Trump. We need a leader back in the White House.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 9/30/24]
       
    • Fox’s Laura Ingraham claimed that Trump is the real leader for going to Georgia while Biden and Harris managed the crisis from afar. “Harris couldn't give up a day on the trail to pretend to care. Yet hours after Trump showed up with truckloads of supplies, speaking to responders and volunteers, Kamala showed up at work. …Of course, the government should be mobilized to help. But that does not change the fact that Biden and Kamala Harris were not at the White House driving our federal preparedness.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 9/30/24]