Nobody’s ever seen anything like it…
MAGA Republicans are now lying about the federal response to Hurricane Helene in much the same way they lied about Haitian migrants bringing chaos and disease to Springfield, Ohio. Both disinformation efforts are flat-out lies, and both are designed to demonize immigrants. Immigration was the issue Trump was so eager to run on that he demanded Republican lawmakers reject the strong border bill a bipartisan group of lawmakers had hammered out.
The federal response to Hurricane Helene has drawn bipartisan praise, with Republican governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina thanking Biden by name for what McMaster called a “superb” response.
But on Sunday, September 29, two days after the hurricane hit, the right-wing organization started by anti-immigrant Trump loyalist Stephen Miller posted: “Billions for Ukraine. Billions for illegal aliens. And what for the Americans? Reprogram every single dollar that FEMA has dedicated to support illegal aliens to go towards Americans who are facing unprecedented devastation!”
Yesterday, in Saginaw, Michigan, Trump echoed Miller, claiming that the Biden administration is botching the hurricane response because it has spent all the money appropriated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on “illegal immigrants.” “They spent it all on illegal migrants.… They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them,” he said. Today, he claimed that “a billion dollars was stolen from FEMA to use it for illegal migrants, many of whom are criminals, to come into our country.”
Early this morning, X owner Elon Musk posted to his more than 200 million followers: “Yes, they are literally using YOUR tax dollars to import voters and disenfranchise you! It is happening right in front of your eyes. And FEMA used up its budget ferrying illegals into the country instead of saving American lives. Treason.” On Wednesday, Dana Mattioli, Joe Palazzolo, and Khadeeja Safdar of the Wall Street Journal broke the story that Musk has been financing groups with ties to Miller since 2022.
But of course, it is NOT happening in front of anyone’s eyes.
The Washington Post’s fact checker explained in detail that this is all nonsense. DHS is not doing this. But guess who did do it?
Trump has a habit of assuming other politicians act in the same way as he would. So we wondered why he would accuse Biden of raiding the FEMA disaster fund to handle undocumented migrants.
It turns out that’s because he did this. In 2019, the Trump administration, in the middle of hurricane season, told Congress that it was taking $271 million from DHS programs, including $155 million from the disaster fund, to pay for immigration detention space and temporary hearing locations for asylum seekers who had been forced to wait in Mexico. “The U.S. is facing a security and humanitarian crisis on the Southern border,” the administration said in its notice that it was redirecting the funds.
The monthly reports issued by the FEMA disaster fund show $38 million was plucked and given to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August that year — just before the prime storm period of September and October.
I suppose it was inevitable that they’d try to turn this into Kamala’s Katrina. But they’re actively interfering with the rescue efforts and hurting their own voters in the process. Musk has been especially malevolent, reaching into Alex Jones territory.
That’s a total lie. And Valentina Gomez is one of the most disgusting Republicans on the planet, just coming off of a losing primary race in which her platform was grotesque assaults on LGBTQ people. It figures that she is on Musk’s radar.
Ron DeSantis refused to meet with Biden, no doubt trying to avoid the Chris Christie curse (the rightwingers excoriated him for meeting with Obama after Hurricane Sandy in 2012) but for the most part local Repubican officials are beside themselves over the disinformation which is making it impossible to help people. From mayors to county executives to Governors, they’re all begging people to knock it off but it’s falling on deaf ears.
Social media is awash in disinformation led by Republicans and no doubt foreign bots have joined in the action. It’s sick.
This guy is on the ground correcting the record every day:
Update: I should have mentioned local media which has been doing a fantastic job: