Why Trump’s Accusations About Hurricane Aid Sound So Familiar | Vanity FairSkip to main contentOpen Navigation MenuMenuSearchSearchPoliticsBusinessHollywoodStyleCultureRoyalsCelebrityVideoPodcastsArchiveVF ShopWhat Is Cinema?ArchiveVF ShopMagazinePoliticsWhy Trump’s Accusations About Hurricane Aid Sound So FamiliarIn the aftermath of Helene, the former president has falsely claimed that the Biden administration is withholding disaster relief. Surprise, surprise: Trump has been accused of doing the very same thing.By Eric LutzOctober 4, 2024Donald Trump gives remarks as he visits Chez What Furniture Store which was damaged during Hurricane Helene on September 30, 2024 in Valdosta, Georgia.Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesSave this storySaveSave this storySaveDonald Trump has spent days trying to capitalize politically on Hurricane Helene, which has wrought destruction across six states in the southeast and left at least 200 dead. Not only has he claimed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have received “POOR GRADES” for the administration’s handling of the storm, despite bipartisan praise for their response (“It has been superb,” South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, said this week). Trump has outright accused the administration of intentionally withholding aid to Republican areas impacted by the storm, even lying at a Thursday rally that Democrats “stole” relief money that should have gone to storm victims and “[gave] it to their illegal immigrants they want to have vote for them this season.”“Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants,” he claimed in Saginaw, Michigan Thursday.That’s not true, of course. Worse yet, Trump himself may have done precisely what he is accusing the Biden administration of, as Politico reported on Thursday. Two former White House officials told the outlet that, as president, Trump was reluctant to provide disaster relief to areas he viewed as favoring Democrats—including California following deadly wildfires in 2018. Mark Harvey, a member of his National Security Council staff who has since endorsed Harris, told Politico that Trump relented and provided the California aid only after he was shown that Orange County “had more Trump supporters than the entire state of Iowa.”“We went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas,” Harvey said, “to show him these are people who voted for you.”Olivia Troye, another former Trump administration official who backs Harris, confirmed Harvey’s account, and said the episode foreshadowed how Trump would approach disaster relief if elected to another term. The “American voter out there who isn’t even really paying attention to politics, and their house is gone," Troye told Politico Wednesday, “the president of the United States is judging them for how they voted, and they didn’t even vote.”X contentThis content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.Such a partisan response would constitute a grave abuse of power, but perhaps not a surprising one. He all but acknowledged his disregard for Democratic-leaning areas during his response to the COVID pandemic back in 2020. The death toll, he said in September of that year, isn’t so bad “if you take the blue states out”: “We’re really at a very low level,” he boasted at the time.Now, Trump is seeking to exploit Helene—which devastated North Carolina and Georgia, two battlegrounds in this fall’s election—to his political benefit, seeking to portray his opponent as partisan and incorporating it into his ugly attacks on immigrants, with help from right-wing figures like Elon Musk, who have amplified the baseless claims. Even Republican governors in the affected states of Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia have contradicted Trump, praising the administration’s response. “He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who will appear with Trump Friday for the first time since 2020, said of his call with Biden this week, despite Trump’s claim that he couldn’t get in touch with the administration. “And I told him, you know, we’ve got what we need, we will work through the federal process.” But that hasn’t stopped the wild claims, with one Trump ally, Marjorie Taylor Greene, even suggesting Democrats had literally manufactured the storm to destroy Republican-leaning areas. “Yes they can control the weather,” Greene posted on X Thursday night. “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”More Great Stories From Vanity FairSee Our Winner Predictions for the 2025 SAG AwardsHow Patrick Schwarzenegger “Eye-F—ed” His Way Onto The White LotusThe White Lotus Season 3: All the Easter Eggs You May Have MissedThe Education—and Anointment—of Barron TrumpMillie Bobby Brown on Stranger Things, Marriage, and Life on the FarmWhere to Watch Every 2025 Oscar-Nominated MovieA Lovesick Aristocrat and the Royal Family’s Nazi-Connected ShamesChronicling JD Vance’s Circuitous Rise to Power: Listen to the Inside the Hive Podcast with Host Radhika JonesEvery Steven Spielberg Movie, RankedFrom the Archive: Seduction-to-Spilt Secrets From Ava Gardner’s Three MarriagesEric LutzContributing EditorEric Lutz is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, where he has been covering national affairs since 2018. He chronicles the chaos of Trump era politics, reporting on the issues, ideas, and personalities driving the day. He has also written for publications like The Guardian and Rolling Stone, and serves ... Read moreSee More By Eric Lutz »Read MorePoliticsDemocrats Need More Than a New MessageSaturday’s Democratic National Committee chair election is a chance for the party to stop soul-searching and start rebuilding the brand to take on Trump 2.0. But from my conversations with top contenders, the party still isn’t meeting the moment with a bold vision for the future.By Eric LutzPoliticsDonald Trump’s Funding Freeze Is a Holy S--t Moment for DemocratsEveryone from Chuck Schumer to JB Pritzker is scrambling to mount a resistance in the form of messaging, litigation and congressional action.By Caitlin DeweyPoliticsThe Awful Absurdity of Donald Trump’s First Week Back in PowerA watchdog purge. A proposal to “clean out” Gaza. Immigration raids starring Dr. Phil. It was an appalling return to Trump politics—and, with little real opposition so far, it’s only going to get worse.By Eric LutzPoliticsRFK Jr. Proved Himself Out of His Depth—Even Under Friendly Republican QuestioningThe Kennedy scion is already well-known for pushing conspiracy theories and junk science, but Wednesday’s hearing revealed just how little he understands about the monumental job he might take on.By Eric LutzPoliticsTrump Doesn’t Want to Make Government Better—He Wants to Dismantle ItThe president’s assault on nearly every branch of government, including the safety-related FAA and disaster-related FEMA, is actually part of a plan reaching back decades.By Chris SmithPoliticsDC Plane Crash Is a True Test of Donald Trump's Leadership. He's Off to a Bad StartThe president fired off a rambling social media post about how the collision “should have been prevented” as officials investigate the cause and search for survivors.By Caitlin DeweyPoliticsThe Democrats’ Fear FactorIt’s the consultants, stupid! Future candidates need to be themselves, take control on social media, and immediately push back on right-wing spin.By Molly Jong-FastPoliticsKey GOP Senator Solicited Testimony Against Pete Hegseth, Then Voted to Confirm Him AnywayThom Tillis reportedly assured Hegseth’s former sister-in-law that her statement would turn the tide against him.By Caitlin DeweyPoliticsRFK Jr.’s Abortion Policy: Do as Donald Trump SaysDuring his Senate confirmation hearings, the HHS secretary nominee struggled to answer key regulatory questions, and instead parroted the same line that “every abortion is a tragedy.”By Katie HerchenroederPoliticsDonald Trump’s Imperial Designs on Gaza Are Finally Out in the OpenThe developer turned president mused last year about making the Strip “better than Monaco.” Now he seems intent on executing that plan, despite all of the endlessly ugly consequences.By Eric LutzPoliticsThe Gen Z Influencers Giving MAGA a Youthful Glow: “Our Voices Are Being Heard”On the eve of the inauguration, the hard-charging stars of the movement tell VF that they’re poised to play a powerful role in steering Donald Trump’s agenda.By Olivia EmpsonNewsDonald Trump Kicks Off Second Term With a Litany of Gripes and GrudgesIn rambling remarks after his inaugural address, the 47th president resurfaced baseless claims of election fraud, and aimed invective at Hillary Clinton, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and Joe Biden.By Eve BateyFacebookXInstagramPinterestYouTubeMore from Vanity FairNewslettersSubscribeDigital EditionInside the IssueAbout Vanity FairFAQContactContact VFManage AccountAdvertisingCareersUser AgreementPrivacy PolicyYour California Privacy RightsCondé Nast StoreVF Media KitAccessibility Help© 2025 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad ChoicesCN EntertainmentSelect international siteUnited StatesLargeChevronItalySpainFrance
He's a broken record of hatred and lies. Actually, with his age he's more like a broken phonograph.