Damning reports detail Trump’s willingness to 'exploit major disasters' for political gain

According to MSNBC, the death toll from Hurricane Helene had passed 200 by Thursday morning, October 3. The disaster has inflicted considerable damage, including millions of power outages and severe flooding, on the southeastern United States — from Florida to Georgia to the Carolinas.

2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has accused President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of neglecting a major crisis, falsely claiming that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was unable to reach Biden. But in fact, Kemp debunked that claim, saying that Biden invited Kemp to call him directly. And Biden was also quick to reach out to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

In a scathing article published on October 3, The New Republic's Hafiz Rashid details Trump's politicization of Hurricane Helene —and emphasizes that this isn't the first time he has tried to "exploit a major disaster."

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Former National Security Council (NSC) official, Rashid notes, recently told E&E News that Trump didn't want to send wildfire aid to California in 2018 because the state voted Democratic. And Rashid adds that former Mike Pence national security adviser Olivia Troye told E&E "that she would field calls from local politicians around the country asking for disaster relief because Trump refused to provide aid, leading her to frequently ask Vice President Mike Pence to pressure the president."

According to Rashid, Troye — a conservative Republican who endorsed Harris for president — has "warned that Trump will play politics with disaster aid again if he returns to the White House."

Rashid explains, "Since Hurricane Helene hit the American southeast, Trump has pushed conspiracy theories that Democrats are neglecting Republican areas hit hard by the storm, doubling down after being called out. Even Republican politicians, like Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, are pushing back against him."

The New Republic reporter adds, "But as is often the case with Trump, every accusation is just a confession."

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Read Hafiz Rashid's full article for The New Republic at this link and E&E News' full report here.