Former President Trump continued to hit the Biden-Harris administration for its response to Hurricane Helene amid criticism that he’s attempting to politicize the disaster.
Trump spoke with Fox News host Laura Ingraham Saturday at his Butler, Pa., rally, which marked a return to the place where would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to end the GOP presidential nominee’s life in July.
Ingraham asked the former president how he would have responded to the devastation wrought by Helene.
“I’d have a tremendous team of people here. They don’t have any people here, the people who, look, I was in North Carolina yesterday. I was in Georgia — and Georgia’s different. You have a good governor. He’s doing a very good job. But North Carolina is a disaster. And it was also hit very hard. But they don’t have the people and they’re complaining there’s no people around to help,” Trump said.
A drone view shows damage following Hurricane Helene in Asheville, N.C., on Sept. 29. (Reuters/Marco Bello)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell hit back at some claims that agency personnel haven’t been seen on the ground in the aftermath of the storm, telling “Special Report” on Monday such insinuations are “false.”
“We have been on the ground since before Hurricane Helene in Florida and before it crossed over [to] North Carolina. And what I would say is just because somebody doesn’t see a person in a shirt doesn’t mean that we’re not in the area. We have a team located with the state side-by-side to help them understand their needs and move resources where they’re needed,” Criswell said.
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“We’ve moved food and water, and much of what you’re seeing delivered by the amazing National Guardsmen across North Carolina are the supplies that we’ve brought in. The entire federal family is there to support this response. We’ve been there. We will continue to be there as long as it’s needed to make sure we’re meeting everybody’s needs.”
The White House announced over the weekend that President Biden ordered 500 active-duty troops to western North Carolina to assist in relief efforts, bringing the total number of troops to 1,500.
More than 6,100 National Guardsmen and more than 7,000 federal personnel have been mobilized to help residents and affected counties.
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The White House took aim at Trump and others for allegedly spreading false information about how disaster relief funds were being used, specifically a claim that FEMA money was used on migrants in the United States.
“No money is being diverted from disaster response needs. None. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts,” a memo from the White House read in part.
“You know, anything I do, they’ll say, oh, it’s political. If I do anything good, no matter what I do, they’ll say, oh, he did it for politics. I mean, they could have gotten there way before me,” Trump said on “The Ingraham Angle.”
Trump, Biden and Kamala Harris have all visited states impacted by Helene.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris greets people who were impacted by Hurricane Helene in Augusta, Ga., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, as Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson watches at right. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Ingraham asked the GOP nominee how he’s working to ensure voters can cast their ballots amid the devastation.
“Republican areas got hit very hard. You know that. They got hit very, very hard. I believe – and many people are dead. You know, many people are dead. They don’t even know what it’s going to be in terms of the number. You know, they have hundreds are missing and I can’t really speak to it. I can only say that I believe they’re going to go out and vote, if they have to, crawl to a voting booth,” Trump said.
Workers, community members, and business owners clean up debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, North Carolina on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
He added Republican National Committee co-chair and daughter-in-law Lara Trump is working to address the issue.
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“Other people are working on it and we’re trying to make it convenient for them, too. But they just lost their house. We’re trying to make it convenient for them to go out and vote, but we are doing very well in certain areas that we weren’t expected to do. Virginia. We’re doing well. We’re doing well all over. I think we’re going to do great in North Carolina because the response has been so bad to the hurricane. They have – this response has been horrific,” Trump continued.
The Associated Press reported at least 230 people have been killed in the wake of Helene.