North Carolina man blames Trump for father-in-law's refusal of FEMA aid amid Hurricane Helene
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, a North Carolina man named Anthony expressed his frustration over his father-in-law’s refusal to accept assistance from FEMA, attributing this decision to misinformation propagated by Donald Trump and right-wing media.
Speaking on the 'Dan Abrams Show' on SiriusXM, Anthony shared that his father-in-law, who resides in Asheville, is refusing aid despite suffering significant losses from the hurricane.
Misinformation fuels refusal of aid as family struggles to help hurricane victim
According to the Mediaite, Anthony revealed that his father-in-law fears that accepting help from FEMA could result in losing his home.
“He has refused all FEMA help because he’s a hardcore Trumper,” Anthony told Abrams. “He literally believes that if he accepts anything from FEMA, they’re going to take his house.”
He stated, “I mean, he lost almost everything, and he’s refusing all help from the federal government and complaining to us that he doesn’t have food, that he doesn’t have the stuff he needs, and yet he won’t accept the help. What the hell are we supposed to do? We’re not in a position where we can fly across the country and help him. There are people begging us to get him to accept help and he won’t do it.”
The misinformation in question includes claims from Trump and conservative commentators suggesting that FEMA is only offering minimal assistance and diverting funds to migrant shelters instead of disaster relief—assertions that have been proven false.
Despite Anthony and his family providing his father-in-law with fact-checks and FEMA bulletins, he remains skeptical. Anthony said, “We’ve done all of that. We’ve sent him… all the FEMA bulletins. We’ve sent him all the stuff from the fact-checkers. He just doesn’t believe it. He thinks it’s all — he just believes Trump, literally, Dan. He just — it’s a cult! He’s a cult member. I’m sorry to say it, he’s a cult member. And he’s my father-in-law and it sucks.”
Congressman Chuck Edwards speaks out against misinformation on disaster relief efforts
The situation has drawn the attention of some within the Republican Party, including Congressman Chuck Edwards, who represents North Carolina’s 11th district. Edwards publicly refuted the misleading narratives surrounding disaster relief efforts, highlighting the substantial support provided by the Biden administration.
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In a press release titled “Debunking Helene Response Myths,” he stated, “I have seen a level of support that is unmatched by most any other disaster nationwide” and condemned the “outrageous rumors” damaging recovery efforts.
Edwards further clarified that “FEMA has NOT diverted disaster response funding to the border or foreign aid,” and emphasized that it was “NOT only providing $750 to disaster survivors to support their recovery.”
