441886
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene response
URL: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/06/politics/fact-check-trump-helene-response-north-carolina/index.html
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(Makes you wonder why they even bother fact checking anymore? Has he said *anything true* lately? Anything *at all*? Does he even know how? lol If his mouth is moving, he's lying.....) *** Former President Donald Trump has delivered a barrage of lies and distortions about the federal response to Hurricane Helene. While various misinformation about the response has spread widely without Trump’s involvement, the Republican presidential nominee has been one of the country’s leading deceivers on the subject. Over a span of six days, in public comments and social media posts, Trump has used his powerful megaphone to endorse or invent false or unsubstantiated claims. The chief targets of his hurricane-related dishonesty have been Vice President Kamala Harris, his opponent in the November presidential election, and President Joe Biden. Monday: Trump falsely claims Biden hasn’t answered calls from Georgia’s governor During a visit to Georgia on Monday, Trump said of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp: “He’s been calling the president, hasn’t been able to get him.” It was immediately clear that Trump’s claim was false. Kemp, a Republican, told reporters earlier Monday that he had spoken with Biden the day prior — and that it was Kemp who had initially missed a call from Biden, not the other way around. Kemp told reporters that he had successfully called Biden right back. Kemp added: “He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ And I told him, you know, ‘We got what we need. We’ll work through the federal process.’ He offered that if there’s other things we need, just to call him directly, which — I appreciate that. But we’ve had FEMA embedded with us since a day or two before the storm hit in our state operations center in Atlanta; we’ve got a great relationship with them.” In a social media post on Monday, Trump said of North Carolina: “I’ll be there shortly, but don’t like the reports that I’m getting about the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.” It’s unclear what “reports” Trump might have been getting, but there was no apparent basis for the underlying claim that the Biden administration and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper were maliciously abandoning certain communities out of partisan bias. Trump provided no evidence when a reporter pressed him later in the day. Thursday: Trump falsely claims the Biden-Harris response had received ‘universally’ negative reviews Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday that Biden and Harris “are universally being given POOR GRADES for the way that they are handling the Hurricane, especially in North Carolina.” That wasn’t even close to accurate. Though the Biden administration’s response had certainly received criticism, it had also been praised by various state and local leaders — including the Republican governors of some of the affected states and the Democratic governor of North Carolina, plus local leaders including the Democratic mayor of the hard-hit North Carolina city of Asheville. For example, 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 also said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell had called. Thursday: Trump falsely claims Harris spent ‘all her FEMA money’ on housing illegal migrants At a campaign rally in Michigan on Thursday, Trump claimed that “Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants, many of whom should not be in our country.” He added in an election- related conspiracy theory, saying, “They stole the FEMA money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them this season.” This is false. First, there is zero basis for Trump’s suggestion that the Biden administration is running some sort of scheme to get undocumented immigrants to vote illegally in the 2024 election. Voting by noncitizens is a felony. Second, there is zero basis for claiming that FEMA disaster assistance money was stolen — by anyone, let alone Harris personally — for the housing of migrants. Congress appropriated $650 million in the 2024 fiscal year to fund a program that helps state and local governments house migrants — and instructed US Customs and Border Protection to transfer that $650 million to FEMA to administer the program. But this $650 million pot is entirely distinct from FEMA’s pot of disaster relief funds; as the Department of Homeland Security, the White House and independent observers noted this week, they’re just two separate things funded separately by Congress. Congress appropriated more than $35 billion in disaster relief funds for fiscal 2024, according to official FEMA statistics. Friday: Trump falsely claims $1 billion was ‘stolen’ from FEMA for migrants and has gone ‘missing’ Though Trump’s Thursday claim about FEMA money and migrants had already been debunked by Friday, Trump repeated the claim to reporters at least twice on Friday — and then said it again at a Friday night town hall event in North Carolina. Saturday: Trump falsely claims the federal government is only giving $750 to people who lost their homes At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Trump strongly suggested that Americans who lost their homes in the hurricane were only being offered $750 in federal aid. “They’re offering them $750, to people whose homes have been washed away. And yet we send tens of billions of dollars to foreign countries that most people have never heard of. They’re offering them $750. They’ve been destroyed, these people have been destroyed,” Trump said. He added, “Think of it: We give foreign countries hundreds of billions of dollars and we’re handing North Carolina $750.” Trump’s claim is wrong. As FEMA explained earlier in the week on social media and on a web page it created to combat misinformation about the response, $750 is merely the immediate, upfront aid survivors can get to cover basic, pressing needs like food, water, baby formula and emergency supplies. Survivors are also eligible to apply for additional forms of assistance, such as to pay for temporary housing and home repairs, that can be worth thousands of dollars; the current maximum amount for home repair assistance, for example, is $42,500. During Harris’ visit to Georgia on Wednesday, she said, “And the federal relief and assistance that we have been providing has included FEMA providing $750 for folks who need immediate needs being met, such as food, baby formula, and the like. And you can apply now.” But she added just moments later, “FEMA is also providing tens of thousands more dollars for folks to help them be able to deal with home repair, to be able to cover a deductible when and if they have insurance, and also hotel costs.” It’s also worth noting that this hurricane-related assistance to individual residents is separate from the hurricane-related assistance the federal government will provide to state governments. For example, the federal transportation department announced Saturday that it was immediately providing $100 million to North Carolina’s transportation department “to help pay for the costs of immediate emergency work resulting from Hurricane Helene flood damage.” Buttigieg added that this emergency funding “will be followed by additional federal resources.” Saturday: Trump falsely claims there are ‘no helicopters, no rescue’ in North Carolina Trump, criticizing Harris for participating in a political fundraising event in California the last weekend of September, said at the Saturday rally in Pennsylvania: “Kamala wined and dined in San Francisco, and all of the people in North Carolina — no helicopters, no rescue — it’s just — what’s happened there is very bad.” This claim about North Carolina is false. There have been numerous government and private helicopters and other aircraft involved in rescue and aid efforts in North Carolina, though some residents died before they could be rescued and a significant number of residents have remained missing or stranded for days. The North Carolina National Guard announced Thursday that its own air assets had “completed 146 flight missions, resulting in the rescue of 538 people and 150 pets.” The Washington Post reported Friday: “The drone of helicopters has become routine across western North Carolina in the wake of Helene. National Guard and civilian aircraft now crisscross the skies of a region where roads and bridges have been destroyed and people are trapped. The helicopters are delivering supplies, picking up people who need rescuing, dropping off firefighters and search-and-rescue crews and radioing for assistance for others who can be more easily accessed from the ground.“ CNN reported Saturday that air traffic over western North Carolina had increased 300% over the past seven days due to hurricane relief efforts, according to Becca Gallas, director of North Carolina’s Division of Aviation. The state said in an official update Saturday: “A total of 53 search and rescue teams from North Carolina and beyond, consisting of more than 1,600 personnel have conducted search and rescue operations during this event. Search and rescue teams have interacted with over 5,400 people, including assists, evacuations and rescues.” |
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441897
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene response
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There's a move on the right to make fact-checkers illegal. In an authoritarian government, truth is a liability. There can be only one source of information and it can not tolerate checking. Now why would they want to do that? It could certainly happen if Trump is re-elected. First amendment rights will not apply to anyone disagreeing with his "alternative" facts. |
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441888
From: The Hierophant, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene response
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It's because we are getting closer and closer to the election and djt and the republicans know that the only way they have any chance to win is to win with lies, lies and more lies which the gullible and uneducated will accept without questions. |
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[441898] [441892] [441893] [441899] [441895] [441896] [441890]
441898
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene response
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Just like in Springfield, OH...this man has no problem putting others in danger for his own political aspirations, even if he has to make up lies to do it. He is desperate. All states need to watch their backs and that of their people from this man. |
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441892
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene respons
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Methinks the press does the county/world a disservice by reporting trump lying. If he lies they should turn off the camera. It’s the camera he’s lying to so why encourage him? In fact the press could train him to tell the truth, all he craves is attention.. so only give it when he’s honest and he’d be honest. Really, it’s on the folks with the cameras.. and they sell advertising, and folks flock to watch the orange moron lie.. so in essence they’re encouraging him to lie and raking in the big bucks when he does. |
441893
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene respons
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Hm...I hear you, ao, but I'm not so sure about that one... True, it does appear that his unchecked lying is falling upon deaf ears, when it comes to his minions, but...eep, when I imagine the cameras stopping when he starts lying, all's I can see happening from that, is that if you *take lying through his teeth out of people's faces,* we lose any chance of at least *some of them* having enough vestigial/residual conscience that when that very critical moment comes, they...just...can't...find it in themselves to fill in that space next to his name, on that ballot, when it comes right down to the moment of doing so...........yunno? I say, give him all the rope he yells for! Let him hang himself with his own words, for as many people as can find basic humanitarian character and conscience to see clearly out of their own two eyes, and mind... |
441899
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene respons
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We've seen him operate for years. First, he destroys trust in institutions and legitimate press. Then, his followers are told only he has the truth. Then...they only believe you no matter what massive lie you tell them. This is fascism and authoritarianism. You saw Putin do it during the Ukraine attack...they were only "liberating" the Donbass from horrible Ukrainians. Any journalist who published or spoke otherwise had to run from the country, or meet a flight of stairs or open window. We saw this during covid...in the beginning, Trump called it a hoax. Some of his people refused treatment at hospitals because they couldn't possibly be dying from a hoax like their leader told them. Sad..so sad. How many lights? You only get affection from the group and belong and are rewarded if you give the leader's answer, not what you actually see. |
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441895
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene respons
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I hope you’re right.. with all my being.. My problem is I don’t believe in humanity’s ability to be that discerning.. and for my own I’d just like to not have to see him anymore. Anything to get that moron’s ass off the tele.. But yeah I’d love it if seeing him lie would repulse as much as it does to me.. but with some incredible number of people willing to stand behind him no matter.. thankfully it’ll all be over one day sooner for every new day.. I’m just so tired of it all.. |
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441896
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene respons
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Tell me about it… Absolutely sick unto death over seeing human beings (regardless of their soul age/capacities) throwing themselves and their precious sovereignty behind such a violent, inhumane regime…eagerly, desperately, seemingly with everything they’ve got….. “Oh! Oh! Oh NO! All these *negroes,* all these *Dirty Brown People from Not-White Lineages!* There’s too MANY of them now! All these *Poor People, These Losers!* All these * unsightly, ugly Handicapped People!* All these *Perverted People who are Different Sexually!* They’re coming to RUIN MY LIFE! Making me see things I Don’t Deserve to Have to See! Donald Trump is going to SAVE ME FROM THAT! He’s going to *make all these undesirables GO AWAY!* I do know and trust it’s a crucial process…flushing everything that opposes what true democracy and humanitarian intention is out of the woodwork to be dealt with, once and for all…but MAN, jury’s out between me & God on whether I have the stones to be awake and WATCH it… *erp*… |
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441890
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Fact check: Six days of Trump lies about Hurricane Helene response
| Yep... |
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