Topline
President Joe Biden denounced former President Donald Trump and Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday for spreading misinformation about the federal government’s hurricane response, calling their comments “beyond ridiculous” ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall.
President Joe Biden speaks during a briefing about preparations for Hurricane Milton and the … [+]
Key Facts
Biden said “former President Trump has led the onslaught of lies”—including that people will only receive $750 in aid and that money is being diverted to migrants, both of which have been disproven—in a White House briefing Wednesday.
Following Hurricane Helene, which devastated six southern states in late September, Trump and his allies falsely claimed the Federal Emergency Management Agency couldn’t respond appropriately because it diverted disaster relief money to helping migrants, and he has continued to say the federal response has been “the worst response to a storm or hurricane disaster in U.S. history.”
Biden also criticized Greene in Wednesday’s press briefing, for “now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather … it’s beyond ridiculous.”
Last week, Greene said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, “they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done,” and has since doubled down on the claim that humans can modify weather.
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News Peg
The push to correct and discourage misinformation comes as Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning on the central Gulf Coast of Florida, where many people are still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Crucial Quote
“It’s got to stop,” Biden said. “In moments like this there are no red or blue states, there’s one United States of America where neighbors are helping neighbors, volunteers and first responders are risking everything—including their own lives—to help their fellow Americans.”
Key Background
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell has been criticizing Trump and his allies for spreading misinformation about the hurricane response, saying Tuesday the misinformation around the situation was “absolutely the worst I have ever seen,” is “creating distrust” in local and federal governments and is preventing hurricane victims from seeking assistance from FEMA. Officials have urged people to fact check information they see, and FEMA even launched a website dedicated to correcting misinformation about the Helene response. On Tuesday, Biden criticized political figures spreading misinformation more broadly and said it is “un-American,” but did not name Trump or Greene. Vice President Kamala Harris has also criticized the spread of misinformation, saying Monday it was “extraordinarily irresponsible” of Trump to push false information to people impacted by the storm, according to the Associated Press.
