Here’s a concept: Let’s exploit two natural disasters for political gain by Maria Grant

Just when you thought they couldn’t stoop any lower, they did. As we all know, two massive hurricanes occurred over a two-week period—Helene and Milton. The devastation was horrific. More than 227 people died as a result of Hurricane Helene, and at least 17 people died as a result of Hurricane Milton. 

Both Donald Trump and J.D. Vance decided to make up stories about the Biden/Harris response to the hurricane. 

Here are a few of Trump’s lies. He claimed that Biden did not answer calls from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. He said that the Biden administration was going out of its way not to help North Carolinians who live in Republican areas. In a social media post, he wrote that Biden and Harris were being given poor grades for the way that they are handling the hurricane, especially in North Carolina. He claimed that Harris spent all her “FEMA money” on housing illegal immigrants. He then said that one billion dollars was stolen from FEMA for migrants and has gone missing. Next, he said that the federal government is only giving $750 to people who lost their homes. After that, he said that there are no helicopters, no rescues in North Carolina. 

The Wall Street Journal published an editorial by J.D. Vance in which he railed about the total incompetence of the Biden/Harris response to the hurricane and accused them of misplaced priorities. He too claimed that the White House directed FEMA money away from U.S. citizens and “toward aliens who either have no legal right to be here or whose legal status depends on the say-so of the Biden Harris administration.”

Other MAGA Republicans got on the same band wagon, many of whom recently voted against FEMA funding. And Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) claimed that the Democrats are controlling the weather for their own benefit. 

As a result of these falsehoods, FEMA had to launch a rumor response page on its website, debunking one claim after another. Republican and Democratic leaders in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia denied the Trump/Vance baseless claims and stated that the response was quick, and they were getting the help they asked for and more.

Here are the facts. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, more than 6,300 National Guard members from a dozen states rescued hundreds of people and cleared roads across the Southeast. They used helicopters, high-water vehicles, and boats to do so. They cleared thousands of miles of roads and opened dozens of places to distribute supplies. The economic impact of Hurricane Helene could be as much as $160 billion. FEMA spent $9 billion in more than a week.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, more than 50,000 line workers and 1,000 federal workers were on the ground to respond. More than 1,000 people have been rescued since the storm made landfall. The damage from Milton is estimated to be about $50 billion. In addition, hundreds of people are volunteering their services, and many Americans have donated to various relief organizations. Please consider donating to help hurricane victims. 

Biden is asking Congress to return to Washington early and pass additional FEMA funding. So far, Speaker Johnson has not responded. Biden held a briefing in the White House situation room late last week to update the nation on all relief efforts and debunk the misinformation that was proliferating over the airwaves. 

Lies for political gain are dangerous. And they are demoralizing for the thousands of workers who work night and day to repair the damage that these hurricanes have caused. Some workers have not returned home to their families for days. 

In contrast, let me refresh your memory about some of Trump’s activities while he was President. He diverted about $38 million from the FEMA disaster relief fund to give to Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE). As you may recall, that was during the time he was separating children from their parents. After Hurricane Maria decimated the island of Puerto Rico, Trump threw paper towels to a crowd of people at a relief center. He claimed everyone was having a good time while he did so. During an Oval Office presentation, Trump used a Sharpie to alter an official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) map to include Alabama in Hurricane Dorian’s trajectory. When visiting California after devastating wildfires, Trump said he “doesn’t think science knows if climate change is real.”  (Scientists claim that climate change is responsible for a 40 percent increase in the intensity of storms like Milton. In earlier climates, they estimate it would have made landfall as a Category 2.)

Sir Walter Scott once wrote, “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” 

The spidery tentacles of the Trump/Vance web have traveled far and wide. Here’s hoping America frees itself from this web of deceit before it is too late.

Maria Grant was principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm. While on the Eastern Shore, she focuses on writing, reading, piano, and nature.