President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday offered their sympathies to those impacted by Hurricane Helene and pledged that the federal government “has their back.”
The video message, shared on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” comes as falsehoods and conspiracies about the federal response to the storm — notably being echoed and amplified by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — threaten to disrupt recovery and relief efforts, officials say.
“The nation has your back,” Biden pledged to those in the path of the storm in North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the president said said, “is knocking on doors to sign up survivors for direct and immediate financial aid, because many of them need it now. And I've directed my team to stay there 24/7 with you, until this job is done.”
Helene, which made landfall in Florida last week as a Category 4 hurricane, has killed at least 230 people, with hundreds still unaccounted for, making it the deadliest mainland storm since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The president traveled to four of the impacted states last week — the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.
“Last week I spent time in four states to see firsthand how you’re doing and to thank the first responders who run toward danger,” President Biden said. “I saw homes destroyed, businesses wiped out, bridges washed away, survivors in shock and families grieving.”
“We grieve with you,” the first lady added. “This is more heartache than any one community can bear.”
“In moments like this, there are no red or blue states,” President Biden said, with the presidential election less than a month away.
“No matter how you vote, we help each other when disaster strikes,” Dr. Biden said. “Because we are one United States of America.”
Misinformation about the storm — particularly taking aim at the federal response to it — is complicating relief efforts and forcing officials of both parties to take time to set the record straight.
Trump has charged that the Biden administration is withholding aid from Republicans.
“They’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas,” Trump said, without evidence, on Fox News. “They’re not getting water, they’re not getting anything.”
That claim has been echoed by right-wing figures like embattled North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who has been dogged by his own scandals in recent weeks, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was found liable for more than $1 billion for false and defamatory claims about the Sandy Hook school shooting. But they have been debunked by governors in both parties, including Republican Govs. Henry McMaster of South Carolina and Brian Kemp of Georgia and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, who have praised the federal response to the storm.
Trump has also falsely accused FEMA of spending money on migrants who have entered the country illegally. Other critics have criticized spending on aid to Ukraine and Israel, despite the fact that Congress allocates those funds for specific and separate purposes. One lawmaker even posited that the path of the storm was manipulated to harm Republican voters in an effort to influence the 2024 presidential election.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told ABC News on Sunday that false claims about storm recovery are “frankly ridiculous, and just plain false,” as well as “demoralizing” to aid workers and fear-mongering for those in need of aid.
“This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” Criswell said. “It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do.”
FEMA said Monday morning that federal support for Helene has surpassed $210 million, with hundreds of personnel on the ground to help with response efforts, including search and rescue. The agency said that it is prepared to continue response efforts while simultaneously bracing for Hurricane Milton, which strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane on Monday and is set to make landfall in Florida later this week.