Trump's false claims are tearing rift in GOP in hurricane-ravaged states: report
Back-to-back devastation from two massive hurricanes has caused a rift between Republicans in affected states over whether or not to back Donald Trump's lies about aid and property seizure, according to a report.
The Washington Post stated Thursday that "Republicans in storm-battered states appear torn between the need to curb conspiracy theories and fear of drawing a rebuke from Trump just weeks before the election."
It said two clear camps had formed — one populated by Republicans dismissing the claims, and the other with party members parroting them.
Trump has spent the past week falsely telling his followers that President Joe Biden ignored phone calls from Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA). He's claimed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are getting "universally" negative reviews for their efforts to help Americans, and that Harris has spent all of the FEMA disaster assistance money on services for undocumented immigrants.
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He's also falsely claimed that the federal government is giving out only $750 to people who lost their homes and that no helicopters were available to rescue people. All the claims have been widely debunked.
Trump allies like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) are alleging Democrats in the government are controlling the weather, while Alex Jones also said that Hurricane Helene was controlled by the government.
The Post said that lawmakers and officials are now in an awkward position in which they might need to counter the rumors — but without wanting to directly criticize their party's presidential candidate.
North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican, lambasted the "disinformation," and calling it conspiracy theory junk” in a Facebook post.
Republican Mayor Glenn Jacobs, in Knox County, Tennessee, asked his followers to "quit spreading those rumors.
An unnamed Republican "scoffed" when speaking to Axios about Greene.
"She thinks we have no impact on the climate but somehow control the weather," the Republican said.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was among those backing Trump, who he said, “Is expressing his frustration about the lack of resources being provided here."