On Monday, former Republican President Donald Trump exploited the suffering of people impacted by tragedy to attack incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris's response to Hurricane Helene.
On Monday, Trump rushed to hurricane-ravaged Georgia for a photo op.
In an attack against the Biden administration and North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper that he posted on Truth Social, Trump claimed he'd be bringing supplies with him.
The former President didn't specify if he'd be flinging paper towels at hurricane victims like he did in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
Trump falsely claimed the Biden administration and Governor Cooper were deliberately neglecting Republican areas.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Meanwhile, President Biden and Trump's 2024 presidential opponent, VP Harris, opted to not overburden law enforcement, local government, nor interfere with recovery efforts just to set up a photo op and press conference.
Instead they handled getting needed aid to impacted areas through conference and video calls.
But Trump falsely claimed on Truth Social that VP Harris's calls were fake and she didn't know how to use a phone, including a screenshot of a Harris X post as his "proof."
In the same post, Trump also falsely claimed Biden and Harris "left Americans to drown."
@@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Once Trump arrived in Georgia, he told reporters more lies, including that Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp was unable to get in contact with President Biden.
Unfortunately for the former President—whose biggest presidential legacy is his propensity to lie about everything all the time, Governor Kemp told the press earlier on Monday that he'd spoken with President Biden at 5 p.m. on Sunday while praising the Democratic administration's response to Helene.
President Biden was asked Monday during a White House press pool about Trump’s latest lies and his claims about FEMA and Governor Cooper excluding Republicans in North Carolina's relief efforts.
The 46th President responded:
"He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying. The governor told him he’s lying. I’ve spoken to the governor, spent time with him, and he told him he’s lying.
"I don't know why he does this."
"And the reason I get so angry about it, I don't care what he says about me. I care about what he communicates to people that are in need. He implies that we're not doing everything possible. We are..."
"...That’s simply not true, and it’s irresponsible."
But while President Biden chose to focus on recovery efforts and disregard Trump's lies, social media had a different response.
Internet sleuths found a May 2017 tweet by North Carolina Democratic Governor Cooper that called out then President Trump's response after Hurricane Matthew ravaged the southeast.
People found plenty of factual examples of Trump’s past disaster relief failures to counter his current lies.
People also responded to those who bought and repeated Trump's lies.
As Associated Press (AP) correspondent Matthew Daly noted:
"As president, Trump delayed disaster aid for hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico and diverted money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to finance an effort to return undocumented migrants to Mexico. And Project 2025, backed by Trump supporters, would restructure FEMA to limit aid to states and says that the National Weather Service, which provides crucial data on hurricanes and other storms, 'should be broken up and downsized'."
There's an old saying about people in glass houses, but maybe the one about flaming trousers suits Trump better.
