From Staff Reports 

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Former President Donald Trump — at a campaign rally here on Sept. 30 — lambasted the Biden-Harris administration’s response to widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Helene as “terrible” — 

“even as his supporters call for cuts to federal agencies that warn of weather disasters and deliver relief to hard-hit communities,” the Associated Press reported Sept. 30.

The AP story also stated that, when he was 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.’”

Meanwhile, The New York Times on Sept. 30 reported that “minutes after touching down in storm-ravaged Valdosta, Ga., former president Donald J. Trump made an elaborate false claim about the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.

“‘The governor’s doing a very good job,’ Mr. Trump said of the state’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp. The problem, the former president insisted, was that Mr. Kemp was ‘having a hard time getting the president on the phone.’

“Mr. Trump, who wore a red ‘Make America Great Again’ cap, along with his trademark blue suit and long red tie, added: ‘I guess, uh, they’re not, they’re not being responsive. The federal government is not being responsive.’

“But,” the NYT stated, earlier on Sept. 30, “Mr. Kemp himself told a different story. He said that he and Mr. Biden had spoken the night before, and made clear he appreciated the president’s responsiveness.

“He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ Mr. Kemp said. ‘And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We’ll work through the federal process.’”

“Mr. Kemp said that Mr. Biden offered ‘that if there’s other things we need, just to call him directly — which, I appreciate that.’

The NYT story that stated, “The anecdote from Mr. Trump was revealing less for its dishonesty than for what it highlighted about his approach to federal disaster relief. As president, he viewed federal aid through the prism of his personal politics, threatening to withhold money from governors of blue states whom he saw as enemies, and promising ‘A-plus’ treatment for his allies.

“The Trump administration proposed cutting the budget of the agency responsible for disaster relief, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and his top officials diverted money away from FEMA to deal with immigration enforcement. 

“FEMA was understaffed throughout Mr. Trump’s presidency and, until the coronavirus pandemic, he did not view the agency as a priority for funding. He instead viewed the Homeland Security Department, which oversees FEMA, solely as an immigration enforcement agency,” the NYT reported.