Trump jokes he’ll withhold FEMA funding if Republican candidate loses North Carolina race

GASTONIA, NORTH CAROLINA: President Donald Trump said that he would not send additional FEMA funding to North Carolina if Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley lost his race, before immediately telling the crowd that he was “only kidding.”

Trump made the remarks during a rally in Gastonia while campaigning for Whatley against Democratic candidate Roy Cooper.

North Carolina is still recovering from the tragic Hurricane Helene, which devastated western parts of the state in 2024 and left communities seeking federal assistance to recover.

Trump threatens FEMA funding over Senate race

Trump referenced the more than $2 billion in FEMA funding that has already gone to North Carolina as he addressed the state’s continuing recovery needs.

“You're waiting for some additional money to take care of some of the back, and I'm going to get that to you, Michael. Now, if Michael loses, I'm not sending it, okay? No, I'm only kidding. You're getting it, he’s been bugging me.”

Trump’s initial remark drew a mixture of laughter and groans from the crowd before he clarified that Whatley would receive the funding.

The comments nevertheless put federal disaster assistance at the center of a campaign rally focused on the closely watched North Carolina Senate race.

The state remains heavily shaped by the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which struck North Carolina in September 2024.

At least 107 people were killed in the state, while the storm caused an estimated $60 billion in damage. Communities in western North Carolina have continued to seek federal assistance for recovery.

Trump has previously criticized FEMA’s handling of disasters and questioned the future of the agency.

During a January 2025 visit to Asheville, North Carolina, months after Helene struck, he called FEMA “a very big disappointment,” describing the agency as “very bureaucratic” and “very slow.”

Trump also said at the time that he was considering fundamentally changing or potentially eliminating FEMA. 

Whatley, whom Trump has backed in the Senate race, has also previously said he personally urged the president to abolish the agency.

25 states sue FEMA over funding conditions

Apart from criticism from Trump, FEMA also faces a separate legal challenge over conditions attached to federal emergency funding.

In July, 25 states sued FEMA and DHS, accusing them of withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in disaster-preparedness and homeland security grants to force states to adopt their policies on elections and immigration.

The lawsuit challenged newly imposed conditions on the funding that would require states to verify voter citizenship through a federal database, move toward hand-marked paper ballots, conduct federally prescribed election audits and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F Neronha, who co-led the lawsuit, accused the administration of using federal funding as leverage.

“Congress allocated these funds to the states for preparing for and responding to emergencies including counterterrorism and natural disasters, and the executive branch has no legal say in the matter,” Neronha said in a statement announcing the suit.

“Federal emergency funding cannot and will not be held hostage from states.”

However, a FEMA spokesperson described the requirements as “common-sense measures” in an interview with the CBS News.

“This partisan pushback from New Jersey, California, Illinois, and Rhode Island is nothing new. We fully expected these left-wing politicians to oppose common-sense measures”