North Carolina governor blasts 'flat out lie' from Trump on disaster aid

(The Hill) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) hit former President Trump for claiming that the governor's office was blocking people and money from going into the state as it recovers in the wake of Hurricane Milton.

"This is a flat out lie," Cooper wrote in a post Friday on social platform X. "We’re working with all partners around the clock to get help to people. Trump’s lies and conspiracy theories have hurt the morale of first responders and people who lost everything, helped scam artists and put government and rescue workers in danger."

Cooper's comments were in response to a post from Trump on Truth Social on Friday.

"It has just come out that Democrats in Washington and the Democrat Governor's Office of North Carolina (Roy Cooper) were blocking people and money from coming into North Carolina to help people in desperate need," Trump wrote.

"Biden knew about it, and so did Kamala! It’s all over the place — A HORRIBLE SITUATION. I will make it up to everyone when we take Office on January 20th. HOLD ON, I’M COMING!" he added in the post.

Trump and his allies, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and tech billionaire Elon Musk, have repeatedly attempted to spread misinformation in the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The Republican presidential nominee has received backlash for suggesting that federal officials are “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas” and saying Vice President Harris “spent all her FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants.”

President Biden called Trump's claims about Hurricane Milton "un-American" and urged the former president to stop spreading disinformation about the government's response.

“Over the last few weeks there’s been reckless and irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies about what’s going on,” Biden said in remarks from the White House earlier this week.

“It’s harmful to those who most need the help. Quite frankly these lies are un-American,” Biden added. “And there’s simply no place for them, not now, not ever.”

FEMA launched a "rumor response" site in an effort to combat claims related to how much funding the agency provides to disaster survivors, blocking aid and preventing evacuations, and restricting airspace, among several other allegations.

The Hill has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.