DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Helene isn’t the first time Trump inserted politics into a natural disaster

Former White House advisers said Trump hesitated as president to provide disaster aid to California because of the state’s Democratic leanings.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, former President Donald Trump has blasted the Biden administration for its handling of the disaster — going so far as to accuse Democratic leaders of ignoring the needs of Republican storm victims.

But a review of Trump’s record by POLITICO’s E&E News and interviews with two former Trump White House officials show that the former president was flagrantly partisan at times in response to disasters and on at least three occasions hesitated to give disaster aid to areas he considered politically hostile or ordered special treatment for pro-Trump states.

Mark Harvey, who was Trump’s senior director for resilience policy on the National Security Council staff, told E&E News on Wednesday that Trump initially refused to approve disaster aid for California after deadly wildfires in 2018 because of the state’s Democratic leanings.

But Harvey said Trump changed his mind after Harvey pulled voting results to show him that heavily damaged Orange County, California, had more Trump supporters than the entire state of Iowa, Harvey said.

The exchange has not been previously reported.

“We went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas … to show him these are people who voted for you,” said Harvey, who recently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris alongside more than 100 other Republican former national security officials.

Both Harvey and Olivia Troye, a former Trump White House homeland security adviser who backed up Harvey’s claim, say Trump is approaching Hurricane Helene with a similar mindset. They say he is politicizing a disaster that has killed more than 170 people in six states. And Troye, who has endorsed Harris for president, accused Trump of trying to divert attention from his own political liabilities on disaster responses.

She said if Trump wins the White House again, he will view disasters through a political lens that values personal loyalty over damage considerations.

“It’s not going to be about that American voter out there who isn’t even really paying attention to politics, and their house is gone, and the president of the United States is judging them for how they voted, and they didn’t even vote,” Troye said in an interview Wednesday.

Troye, who played a lead role in federal disaster response, said local political leaders regularly called her office begging for help because Trump refused to sign documents approving aid. Troye said she had to repeatedly enlist former Vice President Mike Pence to apply pressure.

Added Harvey: “There’s no empathy for the survivors. It is all about getting your photo-op, right? Disaster theater to make him look good.”

The Trump campaign did not respond to an E&E News request seeking comment.

On Monday, Trump turned a visit to flood-damaged Valdosta, Georgia, into a partisan attack. He falsely claimed the Biden administration — and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) — were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas” and that GOP governors couldn’t get the president on the phone.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, both Republicans, confirmed that wasn’t true and praised the federal response. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) also applauded the Biden administration’s response to Helene, which damaged the southeastern part of the state.

While Trump is alone among political leaders in accusing President Joe Biden of ignoring the Republican victims of Hurricane Helene, his four years in the White House show that at times he played favorites with disaster response.
‘They love me in the Panhandle. … What do they need?’

In early 2019, shortly after taking office, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida met with Trump at the White House to ask a favor.

Months earlier, while DeSantis was running for governor, Hurricane Michael had caused massive damage in the Florida Panhandle.

DeSantis asked: Would the president order the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay 100 percent of recovery costs instead of its customary 75 percent?

“This is Trump country — and they need your help,” DeSantis told the president, according to the Republican governor’s autobiography, “The Courage to Be Free.”

“They love me in the Panhandle,” Trump replied, according to DeSantis’ book, published in 2023 as he was preparing to run for president. “I must have won 90 percent of the vote out there. Huge crowds. What do they need?”

On March 9, 2019, Trump signed an order directing FEMA to pay 100 percent of most disaster costs in Florida. As a result, FEMA paid roughly $350 million more than it would have without Trump’s intervention, according to an E&E News analysis.

But less than two months earlier, Trump threatened to veto a disaster-aid measure in Congress that would have FEMA pay 100 percent of all disaster costs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria killed more than 3,000 people.

The White House said in Jan. 16, 2019, policy statement that it “strongly objects” to the proposal.

“Cost shares are critical to ensure that work with impacted jurisdictions is collaborative and that both partners have incentives to operate efficiently and control costs,” the Office of Management and Budget wrote.

The legislation failed in the Senate.

Presidents often increase the federal share of disaster costs for the worst disasters. Trump himself increased the federal share following 23 disasters during his administration including after Hurricane Maria, a Congressional Research Service report shows.

Trump paid 100 percent for Maria — but only for FEMA funds spent on debris cleanup and emergency protection. Under the legislation Trump opposed, FEMA would have paid 100 percent of all recovery costs for Maria including reconstruction.

The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General issued eight reports criticizing FEMA’s response to Hurricane Maria in both Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands during the Trump administration. The department oversees FEMA.

An IG report in 2020 found that FEMA “mismanaged the distribution” of $257 million in commodities, which “took an average of 69 days” to reach their destinations.

The report also found that FEMA gave hurricane survivors in Puerto Rico junk food including Oreos, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and Airheads candy. “Vendors were at capacity in providing nutritional meals following Hurricane Harvey,” the IG wrote, “and could not produce any more to support the effort in Puerto Rico.”

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General found that the White House delayed the release of $8.3 billion in HUD disaster aid for Puerto Rico that Congress approved in February 2018. HUD officials told the IG that the White House undertook a review process that it “had never before required.”

The money was allocated in January 2020.

The Trump administration also withheld for nearly two years a report that could have helped push Congress to improve HUD’s disaster-aid program, E&E News reported. The report, completed in April 2019, was released the day before Trump left office.

Harvey, the former Trump special assistant, remembers trying to push Trump to get money out the door to Puerto Rico.

“It was very much a business deal, like, ‘This a lot of money. What are we getting in return for it?’” Harvey said. “There was still just a whole lot of stall, stall, stall, don’t give them what they need yet.”

“It just goes into this pattern of, ‘We’re not awarding that, these aren’t my people.’ That general sense of, ‘I am here to help my people, and these aren’t my people, so I don’t have a responsibility to help.’”

Trump’s approach to Puerto Rico stands in contrast to how he responded to a separate disaster in Alabama, where he won 63 percent of the vote in 2016.

In early 2019, days after tornadoes killed 23 people in Alabama, Trump wrote on Twitter, “FEMA has been told directly by me to give the A Plus treatment to the Great State of Alabama and the wonderful people who have been so devastated by the Tornadoes.”

There is no indication that FEMA gave special treatment to Alabama.
Expert: Voters want partnerships, not partisanship

The dim view of Trump’s response to disasters isn’t shared by all his former officials.

Former Trump FEMA Administrator Brock Long denied that the president slow-walked aid to Democratic areas. He said the evidence was there in the amount of money that went to California for wildfire recovery and to Puerto Rico after Maria.

But, Long said, the agency has too long been subjected to politicization from Republicans and Democrats alike.

Long, who was in North Carolina this week and described the destruction as “generational” damage, said that dragging its recovery into campaign politics would be very harmful.

That’s why he wants FEMA to no longer be headed by a political appointee.

“You would hope that in major disasters like this, you could get the politics out of the disaster, and you would hope that we could focus on the people that are hurting,” Long said. “Let them be the agency that can function and get the job done without politics on both sides.”

Trump approved 89 disasters in states that opposed him, including 17 in California — more than any state, an E&E News analysis of FEMA data shows.

More than 80 percent of the disaster requests that Trump denied came from governors of states that he won in 2016, an E&E News analysis of FEMA data shows.

“There really is no difference that I’ve seen,” Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, said in an interview this week.

“Brock Long, just like Deanne Criswell, are committed emergency managers trying to fill the intent of their agency and are doing as good a job as they possibly can,” Berginnis said, referring to FEMA administrators under Trump and President Joe Biden.

It’s not yet clear how Hurricane Helene’s effect on Georgia and North Carolina — two key swing states — will affect the presidential election. But one political expert said Trump’s use of Hurricane Helene as a campaign cudgel may not yield the electoral benefit he thinks.

Voters don’t want partisan attacks during a crisis and would rather see a willingness to work with whoever is needed to rebuild communities and provide life-saving supplies, said Joshua Meddaugh, a political science professor at Clayton State University in Georgia.

Meddaugh cited President Barack Obama’s partnership with New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 — memorialized in photos of the two embracing — and President George W. Bush’s appeal for unity following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Instead, Meddaugh said, Trump showed up to a devastated community in Georgia with a “normal kind of suit outfit on and a red hat.”

“It was a highly political moment when it didn’t need to be,” Meddaugh said. “If he downplayed it a little bit more, … I think it could have played very well. But it’s not going to play for people on the fence or completely [on] the other side.”

https://www.eenews.net/articles/hel...serted-politics-into-a-natural-disaster/

His paper towel passing percentage is through the roof.

Climate and global warming nay sayers from red states like Texas, Georgia, SC, TN, and Florida are getting Mother Nature’s response to their actions, or non actions.

There won’t be American Citizens if Trump is elected. You’ll be loyal subjects to his kingdom.

A disaster should be politicized when the politicians-in-charge refuse to help Americans during a time of need and instead give BILLIONS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND ILLEGALS.

Vote those anti-americans out!

lol …your Goper tears taste bitter.

I suppose that all of the tears of those who lost everything in the hurricane taste good to you too.

The reason you libtards are hysterical about the disaster being politicized is that you can't stand to have a light shined on your failures in office.

Fact check: Amid bipartisan praise for Biden hurricane response, Trump falsely claims reviews are ‘universally’ negative

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fact-check-amid-bipartisan-praise-201412525.html

Eve just parroting Trump. The Republican governors are giving Biden massive credit for getting these states whatever they need.

I’m sure eve will call these governors liars.

Pretty sure they need more than 750 dollars.

Dense. Incredibly so.

Yes, you are.

I’m rubber. You’re glue.

I know you, but what am I?

poo

Some people think they know more than the Republican governors of these states who give Biden credit for a quick and comprehensive response to this tragedy. But it's a trump clone so it should have been expected.

As Hurricane Helene careened toward Florida's Panhandle, numerous Republicans voted against extending funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

By Amgen
Last week, Congress approved $20 billion for FEMA's disaster relief fund as part of a stopgap spending bill to fund the government through December 20. But the measure left out billions of dollars in requested supplemental disaster funding.

The Senate approved the measure by a 78-18 vote on September 25 after it passed the House in a 341-82 vote. Republicans supplied the no votes in both chambers.

Some of the Republicans who voted against the bill represent states that have been hard hit by Helene, including Florida Representative Matt Gaetz.


An aerial view of damaged houses
Damaged houses are seen after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, on September 28. Dozens of Republicans voted against a bill to continue funding the Federal Emergency Management Agency before Helene hit Florida. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
Helene hit Florida as a Category 4 storm last Thursday, before plowing through several other states in the Southeast. The devastation could cost up to $160 billion, according to an estimate by AccuWeather.

Some Republicans railed against FEMA funding being allocated for assisting migrants after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters on Wednesday that FEMA will run out of money before the hurricane season is over. The agency is facing a multibillion-dollar deficit, even after imposing new spending restrictions.


"We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting," Mayorkas said. "FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season."

Mayorkas' comments led some Republicans to accuse the Biden administration of diverting funds intended for disaster relief, which a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Newsweek was "completely false."

President Joe Biden said Monday he may call Congress back into session during a break to pass emergency supplemental funding, as some lawmakers from states hit by Helene have urged.

R

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that the FEMA funding included in the stopgap spending bill approved last week is sufficient and that there is no need for lawmakers to return early.

Below are all the GOP lawmakers that voted against that bill:

House

Representative James Baird of Indiana

Representative Troy Balderson of Ohio

Representative Jim Banks of Indiana


Representative Aaron Bean of Florida

Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona

Representative Gus Bilirakis of Florida

Representative Dan Bishop of North Carolina


Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado

Representative Mike Bost of Illinois

Representative Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma

Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee


Representative Eric Burlison of Missouri

Representative Kat Cammack of Florida

Representative Michael Cloud of Texas

Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia


Representative Mike Collins of Georgia

Representative Eli Crane of Arizona

Representative John Curtis of Utah

Representative Warren Davidson of Ohio


Representative Byron Donalds of Florida

Representative Jeff Duncan of South Carolina

Representative Ron Estes of Kansas

Representative Mike Ezell of Mississippi


Representative Randy Feenstra of Iowa

Representative Brad Finstad of Minnesota

Representative Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota

Representative Russell Fry of South Carolina


Representative Russ Fulcher of Idaho

Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida

Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas

Representative Bob Good of Virginia


Representative Lance Gooden of Texas

Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia

Representative Morgan Griffith of Virginia


Representative Michael Guest of Mississippi

Representative Harriet Hageman of Wyoming

Representative Andy Harris of Maryland

Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana


Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio

Representative John Joyce of Pennsylvania

Representative Trent Kelly of Mississippi

Representative Darin LaHood of Illinois

Representative Laurel Lee of Florida

Representative Debbie Lesko of Arizona

Representative Greg Lopez of Colorado

Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida

Representative Morgan Lutrell of Texas

Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina

Representative Tracey Mann of Kansas

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky

Representative Tom McClintock of California

Representative Rich McCormick of Georgia

Representative Mary Miller of Illinois

Representative Max Miller of Ohio

Representative Cory Mills of Florida

Representative Alex Mooney of West Virginia

Representative Barry Moore of Alabama

Representative Nathaniel Moran of Texas

Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina

Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee

Representative Gary Palmer of Alabama

Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania

Representative Bill Posey of Florida

Representative John Rose of Tennessee

Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana

Representative Chip Roy of Texas

Representative David Schweikert of Arizona

Representative Keith Self of Texas

Representative Victoria Spartz of Indiana

Representative Claudia Tenney of New York

Representative William Timmons of South Carolina

Representative Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey

Representative Beth Van Duyne of Texas

Representative Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin

Representative Mike Waltz of Florida

Representative Randy Weber of Texas

Representative Daniel Webster of Florida

Representative Bruce Westerman of Arkansas

Representative Roger Williams of Texas

Representative Rudy Yakym of Indiana

Senate
Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee

Senator Mike Braun of Indiana

Senator Katie Britt of Alabama

Senator Ted Budd of North Carolina

Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho

Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska

Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin

Senator Mike Lee of Utah

Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas

Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky

Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska

Senator James Risch of Idaho

Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama

https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-voted-against-fema-funding-1963980

And if project 2025 is enacted if trump wins

changes would be made to the agencies that cover these kinds of disasters.

NOAA/The National Weather Service would commercialize weather forecasts and change NOAA as follow:

Project 2025 includes about four pages on NOAA and the National Weather Service. That part was written by Thomas F. Gilman, who was an official in Trump’s Commerce Department.
The document describes NOAA as a primary component “of the climate change alarm industry” and said it “should be broken up and downsized.”

And the next one is huge;
Project 2025 calls for reforms to FEMA, like privatizing the National Flood Insurance Program, cutting grant programs and shifting more costs on local jurisdictions.

It almost sounds as if they don't want the funds to be there to help victims of the hurricane so they can in turn blame Biden for not giving money to help hurricane victims. At this point nothing surprises me.

How the North Carolina Legislature Left Homes Vulnerable to Helene
Under pressure to control housing costs, Republican lawmakers rejected standards meant to protect against disasters, experts say.


Listen to this article · 8:39 min Learn more
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A wall has been torn off a portion of a white house on a street corner.
Clearing debris from a badly damaged home in Canton, N.C., on Tuesday.Credit...Loren Elliott for The New York Times
Christopher Flavelle
By Christopher Flavelle
Christopher Flavelle is a climate reporter who has covered building codes for almost a decade.

Oct. 3, 2024
The amount of rain that Tropical Storm Helene unleashed over North Carolina was so intense, no amount of preparation could have entirely prevented the destruction that ensued.

But decisions made by state officials in the years leading up to Helene most likely made some of that damage worse, according to experts in building standards and disaster resilience.

Over the past 15 years, North Carolina lawmakers have rejected limits on construction on steep slopes, which might have reduced the number of homes lost to landslides; blocked a rule requiring homes to be elevated above the height of an expected flood; weakened protections for wetlands, increasing the risk of dangerous storm water runoff; and slowed the adoption of updated building codes, making it harder for the state to qualify for federal climate-resilience grants.

Those decisions reflect the influence of North Carolina’s home building industry, which has consistently fought rules forcing its members to construct homes to higher, more expensive standards, according to Kim Wooten, an engineer who serves on the North Carolina Building Code Council, the group that sets home building requirements for the state.


“The home builders association has fought every bill that has come before the General Assembly to try to improve life safety,” said Ms. Wooten, who works for Facilities Strategies Group, a company that specializes in building engineering. She said that state lawmakers, many of whom are themselves home builders or have received campaign contributions from the industry, “vote for bills that line their pocketbooks and make home building cheaper.”

Chris Millis, director of regulatory affairs for the North Carolina Home Builders Association, said his industry is focused on reducing housing costs but added: “We do not pit affordability against regulations necessary for the protection of public safety.”

Over the past 15 years, North Carolina lawmakers have rejected a number of measures to blunt the effects of catastrophic storms.Credit...Jonathan Drake/Reuters
In 2009 and 2010, lawmakers from the state’s mountainous western region wanted statewide rules to restrict construction on slopes with a high or moderate risk of landslides. Their legislation failed in the face of pushback from the home building and real estate industries, according to Pricey Harrison, a state lawmaker who supported the restrictions.

Mr. Millis said statewide rules are unnecessary because local governments have rules about building on hillsides. Ms. Harrison said a statewide standard would be more effective.

T

The push to build on hillsides reflected the growing demand in North Carolina for mountain retreats that would attract tourist dollars, according to Robert S. Young, a professor at Western Carolina University who focuses on climate resilience.

“Everybody wants a view in their vacation home,” Dr. Young said in an interview. “It’s really hard to shut off that kind of economic activity in a small local community.”



In 2011, lawmakers proposed a law that limited the ability of local officials to account for sea-level rise in their planning. The comedian Stephen Colbert panned the change, quipping: “If your science gives you a result you don’t like, pass a law saying the result is illegal. Problem solved.”

Two years later, lawmakers overhauled the way North Carolina updates its building codes. That change attracted far less attention than the sea-level rule — but would be more consequential for Helene.


Every three years, the International Code Council, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., issues new model building codes developed by engineers, architects, home builders and local officials.

Most states adopt a version of those model codes, which reflect the latest advances in safety and design. But in 2013, the North Carolina legislature decided that the state would update its codes every six years, instead of every three.

The change proved important. In 2015, the International Code Council added a requirement that new homes in flood zones be built at least one foot above the projected height of a major flood.

North Carolina did not adopt that version of the building code until 2019. And even then, the state stripped out the new flood-prevention standard. Rather than make elevation mandatory in flood zones around North Carolina, the state decided that the requirement should only apply if local officials chose to adopt it.

The decision most likely left more homes exposed to flooding, according to Chad Berginnis, executive director of the national Association of State Floodplain Managers.

But Mark Brody, a Republican state lawmaker, said the state was right to leave such decisions to local officials. “There are places that are designated floodplains that never flood,” Mr. Brody said in an interview. “And the locals would know this better than having a blanket state rule.”

The Republican legislature took other steps that may have exacerbated flooding.

In 2014, lawmakers passed laws to weaken protection for wetlands, which can help reduce flood damage by absorbing excess rainfall, according to Brooks Rainey Pearson, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Three years later, the legislature made it easier for developers to pave green spaces, increasing the risk of flooding caused by heavy rains, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center. Mr. Millis, of the home builders association, said that “storm water is heavily regulated in North Carolina.”

Last year, efforts by Republican lawmakers to ease the state’s building codes erupted into open confrontation with Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.



The legislature passed a law that essentially blocked the state from adopting new building codes until 2031. The law also included smaller changes, such as preventing local building inspectors from ensuring that home builders correctly install protective sheathing on homes exposed to winds of 140 miles per hour or less.

Governor Cooper vetoed the bill, saying it would “wipe out years of work to make homes safer.” But Republicans overrode his veto.

The new law has made it harder for North Carolina to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to fund climate-resilient construction projects, which prioritize states with up-to-date building codes. The governor’s office has estimated that North Carolina has lost $70 million in grants because of the 2023 law.

Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill blocking the state adopting new codes last year, saying it would “wipe out years of work to make homes safer.” But Republicans overrode his veto.Credit...Kate Medley for The New York Times
Then, this summer, the Republican legislature again passed a series of reforms weakening the state’s approach to building standards. The law gave the legislature, rather than the governor, the authority to appoint or approve members of the state’s powerful building code council. It removed the requirement that the council include licensed architects. And it included other changes, such as preventing the state from requiring that electric water heaters be located off the ground to protect from flooding.



Governor Cooper again vetoed the legislation, saying it “limits the knowledge and practical experience of the body tasked with ensuring all buildings are safely designed.” Republicans again used their supermajority to override his veto.

The governor’s office declined to comment.

Mr. Brody, the Republican state lawmaker, said the home building industry is like any other interest group seeking to advance its agenda.

“Campaign contributions are there, but the General Assembly makes wise decisions,” Mr. Brody said. He added that construction bills “get pretty well researched and vetted through. Most of them are just plain common sense.”

The home builders association has contributed $4.3 million to North Carolina politicians over the past three decades, with Republicans receiving nearly twice as much as Democrats, according to data from Open Secrets, which tracks political spending. The association gave Roy Cooper $10,500 during his two gubernatorial campaigns, records show.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, insurance money and federal recovery funds will fuel a rush of construction in the areas hit by the storm.


Building standards will help determine how well that new construction fares against future disasters, which are becoming more frequent and severe because of climate change.

Ms. Wooten, the engineer on the building code council, said she was not optimistic that the damage from Helene would change how North Carolina approached building codes.

“Money talks,” Ms. Wooten said. “Politicians want to get re-elected, and they are going to go where the money is.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/03/climate/north-carolina-homes-helene-building-codes.html

At least this guy wasn't one of the MANY Republicans that voted against FEMA funding. Sounds like his anger is seriously misplaced, though.

j/c

Fact check: Amid bipartisan praise for Biden hurricane response, Trump falsely claims reviews are ‘universally’ negative

Former President Donald Trump, seeking to capitalize politically on the devastation from Hurricane Helene, falsely claimed in a social media post on Thursday that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “are universally being given POOR GRADES for the way that they are handling the Hurricane, especially in North Carolina.”

Facts First: Trump is wrong. The Biden administration’s response to the hurricane has received bipartisan praise from political leaders in affected states.

That praise has not been universal; there has also been some criticism and some ambivalence. But Trump’s assertion that reviews for the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis have been entirely negative is not true.

And this is just the latest Trump false claim on the subject of the administration’s hurricane response.

On Monday, Trump incorrectly said that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp hadn’t been able to get Biden on the phone, though Kemp had said the same day that he had already spoken to Biden. And Trump baselessly claimed Monday that the federal government and the Democratic governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, were deliberately not helping residents of Republican communities in the state; Trump provided no evidence for the claim when a reporter pressed him about it.

Praise from Republican governors

Various Republican governors in the southeastern states hit by Hurricane Helene have praised the Biden administration’s response, sometimes naming Biden in particular.

Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said at a Tuesday press conference that federal assistance had “been superb,” noting that Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had both called and told him to let them know whatever the state needed. McMaster added that the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, had also called. He said, “So we’re getting assistance, and we’re asking for everything we need.”

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said at a Monday press conference, “I’m incredibly appreciative of the rapid response and the cooperation from the federal team at FEMA.” He specifically thanked Biden, among others, in a press release the day prior.

Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said at a Wednesday press conference that the response to his emergency declaration “was quick from the federal government,” adding there was “a fast turnaround, frankly,” in making the state eligible for some federal reimbursements.

At a Tuesday press conference, Lee spoke of a “rush” of officials “from the federal to the state to the local, the local emergency management agencies, local county mayors with tears in their eyes out there serving their people. There is a great deal of hope when you see what is behind the effort, the coordinated effort, in this community to begin to rebuild.”

Praise in North Carolina

Cooper, the North Carolina governor, has repeatedly praised the federal response. Sitting beside Biden during the president’s visit to North Carolina on Wednesday, Cooper said, “We’re grateful for the quick actions and close communications that we have had with the president and with the FEMA team,” adding moments later, “And Mr. President, we know that we have made a lot of asks of you, and we are grateful for your ear and for your actions.”

Cooper said in a briefing on Tuesday: “I briefed President Biden and Vice President Harris each on two occasions, and they have committed every resource available to this recovery. I appreciate the president’s quick approval of our major disaster declaration this weekend and his direction that FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will continue to be here on the ground,” saying that residents were already starting to receive assistance funds.

The Democratic mayor of the hard-hit North Carolina city of Asheville, Esther Manheimer, said on MSNBC on Tuesday: “We are seeing incredible help, from the federal government to the state to the private sector to the nonprofit sector, faith-based organizations, everyone pouring in here with their help.” She emphasized that rebuilding from the “catastrophic” situation would take a long time regardless.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/03/politics/fact-check-trump-biden-hurricane-response/index.html

This is one of the very few times where I can say this dude is doing the lords work

Pilot flying Helene rescue missions in NC threatened with arrest

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pilot-flying-helene-rescue-missions-154942261.html

Him and his son flying rescue ops together. SMH don’t make me tear up, bro

It's a shame they threatened to arrest this man for his brave decision to help evacuate the people who were left stranded and prevented him from doing more for the victims.

I understand that they want to help and I think that the arrest thing is mostly a misunderstanding.
Looked this up at lunch and these areas are now federal disaster areas.
They have jurisdiction. They take care of coordinating all of the disaster search aircraft, supply drops, manpower movement, utility helicopter crews and the private contracted aircraft.

They can't have people coming in there on their own without coordinating with the feds. Hopefully somebody reached out to them because they really need people like this right now.

Just heard something on MSNBC that only about 2% of people in the Tenn/NC area where some of the worst damage is have flood insurance.

There is going to be a lot of long term heartbreak here.

From the article it was not federal law enforcement that threatened to arrest him. And also from the article it stated he had been in touch with local officials on his efforts before this event. I get what you're saying but the reports around this incident don't seem to be associated with federal officials in any capacity.

That’s two BULLSHEETS and a manure patty. Gobble gobble.

Won't matter with This One.


Her immune system has been compromised/corrupted by a steady diet of 'Virus Variant 45.'
Primary symptom: a loss of scent, specific to those found near feed lots and corrals.

For food to enter the buccal cavity, it must first pass beneath the nose-
-a human being's last line of defense, before ingesting pathogens:

"Wait.... this stuff smells funny. Maybe I shouldn't-"


Nah- Girly-girl gobbled down gobs of gulps- with gusto.

__________

I'm not at all certain that she even possesses a gag reflex at this point, based upon the posts she chooses to share with us.

...but that's just me.
Others' mileage may vary.

.02.

I’ll add this to my reading list when I get to better signal.

In Florida it was a chaotic mess. The sheriffs office shut down access to a part of town and wasn’t even letting people walk over the short bridges to get off the barrier islands. There were just normal citizens with boats doing grass roots rescues just cruising down the water looking for people that needed help. Entire Facebook groups were formed and families started putting down loved ones houses and people would go search for them and bring them out if they wanted to or at least relayed messages that they were ok if they didn’t want to leave. It wasn’t until 2-3 days later that the sheriffs started evacuating people and even that was fumbled at first.

My parents lost a vehicle but that was it luckily. The elevator in their building will be down until December at the earliest. They said it looks like a bomb went off around them so they are lucky. If they had a first floor unit they would have lost everything.

Next time I told them to take their other vehicle to the grocery store parking lot. Even if it gets towed the impound fees would be less. They weathered the storm at my house until they were allowed back into the islands on Sunday.

Maybe the goper leaders and global warming deniers of Florida and the Deep South need to listen to Mother Nature a bit more. You know melting ice caps cause a rise in sea levels and exacerbate these hurricane flood surges. But no….build where you want folks.

Brian Stelter had a segment on CNN talking about the misrepresentation regarding Helene. I can’t post it here because the cover tweet has profanity, but he has a back and forth with someone on it. I’d encourage anyone to watch that.

Con Artist…you were talking about not having a good signal. When you get one, you probably should look at NHC site at TD 14. It looks like it is aiming at the general Tampa area as a high end 2 or 3 about Thursday time frame.

I'm certainly glad to hear your parents are okay.

False claims about FEMA disaster funds and migrants pushed by Trump

There is no evidence that disaster relief funds were used on immigrants in the U.S. illegally. FEMA disaster money comes from dedicated funds that cannot be used for other purposes.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/do...r-funds-migrants-pushed-trump-rcna173955

The time spent fact checking all of trump's lies must be exhausting.

I swear some people have clearly never experienced a natural disaster, nor the post/disaster environment.

It doesn’t matter how much money is thrown at the problem, because the issue isn’t funding, it’s LOGISTICS. it’s really freaking difficult to get supplies out to people right now. Rescue efforts are literally a 24/7 thing, but because people are trapped and can’t readily get out, there’s a lot of empty tents right now because they can only be placed on the outskirts of the area.

You know what would help a lot more than funding? All these guys with lifted pick up trucks going out there and clear out debris all across state highway, that way the supply chain can finally connect and become more efficient for the victims.

But nobody wanna get their pavement queens dirty. Just continue crying about things they know nothing about.

But trump said......

By mule and helicopter, volunteers deliver aid to Helene victims

Thousands remain cut off around Asheville
Volunteer groups step in to aid relief efforts
Federal response includes active military, National Guard

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, Oct 4 (Reuters) - An army of private volunteers including mule drivers and helicopter pilots are helping deliver supplies and rescue stranded victims after one of the deadliest storms in recent U.S. history ripped through the mountains of western North Carolina.

One week after Helene slammed into the Florida Panhandle and devastated wide swaths of half a dozen states, untold thousands remained cut off around Asheville, North Carolina, with many roads impassable and telecommunications equipment damaged or destroyed. The mountain communities' isolation has complicated the massive relief effort undertaken by federal, state and local officials.

Many residents have stepped up to help, including Ben Miller, a real estate agent and father of two from the Winston-Salem area, who has been driving supplies into the affected area.
"It's been pretty intense," he said. "This seemed like it couldn't happen here."

Miller dropped off 27,000 bottles of water in Marion, just outside Asheville, on Sunday. The next day, the 44-year-old brought aid to Spruce Pine, a remote town where he has family roots.

"I know how hard some of those areas are to get to when it's 60 degrees outside and totally dry. So as this thing started to unfold, I could really envision that there were a lot of places they were going to have trouble getting to," Miller said.

Miller gathered donations from businesses and families from his son's soccer team, including large totes for distributing water for cleaning, washing and flushing toilets, he said.

In addition to individual efforts, a number of volunteer groups are supplementing official channels of disaster relief, a long tradition that includes the so-called Cajun Navy, an ad hoc flotilla of civilians who helped rescue people stranded in Louisiana after 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

A volunteer group of private pilots, the Altitude Project, says it raised $200,000 this week to fund operations, said member Andrew Everhart, who owns an insurance agency. His fellow volunteers include a professional race car driver, the owner of a distribution and logistics company, and others who work in commercial real estate and social media content creation.

"It's a lot of guys that have jets and helicopters and a lot of connections, and we just decided to lock arms and create our own thing and help people out," Everhart said.

The Altitude Project has been running supplies from a 25,000-square-foot (2,320-square-meter) warehouse in Charlotte to communities near Asheville, where about 20 inches (50 cm) of rain fell in a matter of hours late last week.

"It usually takes the government three, four, five days to coordinate a response, so we just decided to hop into action," Everhart said.

Helene, which has killed more than 200 people, ranks as the most deadly named storm to hit the mainland United States since Katrina, though the 2005 storm claimed a much higher death toll, estimated at 1,400 in a 2023 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In the wake of Helene, the number of people unaccounted for remains unclear. Officials put the number in the hundreds earlier in the week, but that has come down as communications are slowly restored and stranded storm victims are located.

The official response has included 1,000 active-duty military personnel ordered to help by President Joe Biden. In addition, 4,800 people from the federal workforce and 6,000 National Guard personnel from 12 states have been deployed, according to the White House.

Another 600 search-and-rescue personnel were due to arrive and supplement the untold number of state and local rescue and relief teams.

Volunteers are stepping up as well, including Tennessee-based flight company Aeroluxe Aviation, which brought a ground crew and three Robinson 44 helicopters to the area, co-owner Brook Barzyk said.

Aeroluxe has carried out an estimated 150 deliveries of water, food, baby items, fuel and Starlink satellite systems, Barzyk said, with each helicopter able to carry 400 pounds (180 kg) of supplies.

"When we're landing in some of the communities where we're dealing with residents of the communities, everyone has been extremely thankful, and very, very helpful, to a point where we have to monitor them rushing the helicopter because they're so excited," Barzyk said.

Aircraft components maker Acme Aero said in a Facebook post it recovered 144 people on Monday, 120 of them over the age of 68. It also planned to deliver up to 200 Starlink satellite systems to rural fire departments.

Others have gone overland on foot - and hoof.

The Mountain Mule Packer Ranch in Raeford, North Carolina, is running mule trains of supplies into isolated areas, according to its Facebook posts.

Mountain Mule Packers specializes in "extreme terrain pack animal supply trains" and services to military units operating in remote and high-altitude areas, according to their website.

A local business owner, Dave Gindlesperger, 60, joined others in the mountains about 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Asheville to search homes. In some cases, the houses had disappeared, washed away by floodwaters.

In other areas, entire communities were destroyed. "Some we went to, and there was nothing," he said.

Riding on all-terrain vehicles, Gindlesperger and others cut their way through downed trees with chainsaws to get to houses.

"Yesterday was the first day that I could sit down and cry and weep and just, you know, wrap my mind around this," said Gindlesperger, a North Carolina native who runs three furniture and household goods stores, including one in Boone that was destroyed.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/by...-deliver-aid-helene-victims-2024-10-04/?

This could get very bad for the Florida coastline, here comes Milton. There are loose projectiles everywhere from flooding debris piles waiting to be picked up. Expected to be a cat 3, maybe even a low 4 at landfall. I’m in Paris right now, supposed to land back in Orlando on Wednesday so I can’t do anything to prep, but I’m sure my parents are going to end up at my house again. I have a feeling my flight will be cancelled.

Bull Crap. You are comparing apples and oranges. Only a GOP gopher would do that.

Comparing what an individual gets vs what a country gets.. That's idiotic! Then further, you ignore what the Local and State government in those states get.

If you wanna compare, at least be fair about it..