Like Newsmax, WorldNetDaily was a major source of lies and misinformation about the government response to hurricanes Helene and Milton. Bob Unruh huffed in a Sept. 30 article:
Cleanup work from the devastating, and historic Hurricane Helene that decimated parts of Florida, Georgia and North Carolina over the weekend is under way.
And the lives for many never will be the same.
Joe Biden commented immediately that the federal government was working on aid for the states hit by the category 4 behemoth that has left more than 100 dead.
But he wasn’t optimistic about more.
He was asked if there were any more resources the federal government could provide, and he said, “No.”
Unruh is lying by portraying Biden’s response as the sum total of hurricane relief. As an actual fact-checker reported:
Though some of the social media posts include videos of Biden’s full remarks about the administration’s response to Hurricane Helene, they misrepresent what he said about storm aid.
“The President was clearly referring to all we have done for the communities impacted by Hurricane Helene,” White House spokesperson Jeremy Edwards told VERIFY.
Since then, the White House has provided updates about additional efforts to help Hurricane Helene victims.
On the same day as the exchange at Dover Air Force Base, the White House released a fact sheet on its response efforts after Hurricane Helene. That fact sheet says Biden directed FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell “to determine what more can be done to support those who are having the most difficult time accessing assistance in isolated communities.”
Unruh continued to lie in an Oct. 3 article:
The Biden-Harris administration has orchestrated its open border practices to set up circumstances that are costing American taxpayers in the range of $150 billion to help aliens, millions of them illegally in America.
Per year.
And that’s left coffers dry when citizens, facing the loss of everything because of Hurricane Helene, need a hand up.
[…]It was Kamala Harris who has just announced that the government will be coming to victims’ aid with checks … for $750.
Meanwhile, FEMA’s disbursements through a “Shelter and Services Program” show it is dishing out cash for “shelter, food, transportation, acute medical care and personal hygiene supplies” for illegals.
[…]The Gateway Pundit said, “FEMA will only give the suffering families $750. They blew too much money the past few years resettling Kamala’s illegal aliens. It should be clear by now that the Democrat Party does not care about American citizens. You’re on your own, North Carolina and Tennessee.”
As we pointed out when Newsmax made the same claim, the $750 is for immediate emergency relief, and more was on the way. Further, not only is there no evidence that FEMA disaster money was used to help migrants, Trump himself raided the disaster fund in 2019 to pay for detention space for migrants. Still, Unruh pushed both of these lies in a single paragraph in an Oct. 4 article:
Kamala Harris, according to many victims, insulted them with an offer of $750 for the most pressing needs. Joe Biden said in a comment – that was interpreted not to his benefit – the government had given all it had to the victims.
WND’s columnists inevitably embraced the lie as well. Patrice Lewis used her Oct. 4 column to repeat someone’s Twitter/X rant: “So far this year, the United States has given: – $24,400,000,000 to Ukraine. – $11,300,000,000 to Israel. – $1,950,000,000 to Ethiopia. – $1,600,000,000 to Jordan. – $1,400,000,000 to Egypt. – $1,100,000,000 to Afghanistan. – $1,100,000,000 to Somalia. – $1,000,000,000 to Yemen. – $987,000,000 to Congo. – $896,000,000 to Syria. – $9,000 per illegal immigrant that has entered the U.S. And Americans who have lost everything to Hurricane Helene will be getting $750, courtesy of FEMA.”
Richard Blakley ranted in his Oct. 8 column:
After six days, Kamala finally flew into the Asheville airport and stated that the federal government providing $750 in relief to people. First of all, how do you get this money? A gentleman on the radio stated that he applied for money like this in the past and it took over a month to obtain it. So, let’s say the feds hand people the $750 dollars. Where do people – with nothing – go to buy anything – in an area that is decimated?
Thanks, Kamala. Now it is back to campaigning for you. Why didn’t you just say, “Let them eat cake”?
Laura Hollis grumbled in her Oct. 10 column: “Hurricane Helene smashed into the southeastern United States two weeks ago, killing more than 200 people and causing tens of billions of dollars in property damage across multiple states. FEMA has offered $750 to those affected; but you have to apply for it.” Like the other columnists, Hollis hid the fact that the money is for immediate emergency needs and is not the sum total of relief they will receive.