WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Joe Biden on Wednesday accused his predecessor of spreading an “assault of lies” about the federal government’s handling of Hurricane Helene’s damage as another hurricane, Milton, was about to make landfall in Florida.
“Frankly, these lies are un-American,” Biden said from the White House. “Former President Trump led this onslaught of lies.”
Biden said Donald Trump and his allies misrepresented the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response and resources. The president singled out Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who argued the federal government could control the weather.
Asked why he believed his Republican opponents were not accurately speaking about the administration’s response, Biden said: “I don’t know. I just don’t know. …I use one phrase more often than I have in my entire career: un-American. It’s un-American. It’s not about who the hell we are.”
The president spoke about the potential damage from Hurricane Milton and encouraged people near its path to seek shelter. Biden said the government had organized 20 million meals and 40 million gallons of water in anticipation of the storm and that military units were ready with search and rescue teams to help its victims.
“We have your back,” Biden said, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced him at the top of the presidential ticket in July: “Kamala and I will be there as long as it takes to save, to restore.” and rebuild.”
Ruminating on misinformation is something Biden and Harris have done a lot lately, including earlier Wednesday during a virtual White House briefing on federal preparations for Milton. The president then had even harsher words for Greene, saying her comments about the weather were “extremely ridiculous.”
“It has to stop,” Biden said, adding that such claims were “off the wall” and “like something out of a comic book.”
Yet most of his criticism was directed at Trump. During presidential election rallies in November, the former president has tried to energize his voters by criticizing the way Biden and Harris have handled the response to the storm.
At a recent rally in Wisconsin, Trump said it was worse than the government’s 2005 response to Hurricane Katrina, which left 1,392 dead. Hurricane Helene, on the other hand, resulted in approximately 230 deaths.
“This is the worst response to a storm, a catastrophe or a hurricane that we have ever seen,” Trump said. “Probably worse than Katrina, and that’s hard to beat, right?”
