President Trump told a crowd in Gastonia Wednesday evening that he will only send more Hurricane Helene relief aid to Western North Carolina if Republican nominee Michael Whatley wins this year’s U.S. Senate race — before quickly adding that he was “only kidding.”
The president made the remarks at a campaign event for Whatley, who faces Democratic nominee Roy Cooper in one of this year’s most closely-watched Senate races.
“We spent more than $2 billion in FEMA funding,” Trump told the crowd, referring to disaster aid distributed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “And, you know, 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.”
He continued: “Now, if Michael loses, I’m not sending it, okay? No, I’m only kidding. You’re getting it. You’re going to get it, Michael. He’s been bugging me. He’s been bugging me.”
Helene killed more than 100 people in North Carolina and caused an estimated $60 billion worth of damage in the state. Federal aid so far has covered only about 16% of that amount, according to Gov. Josh Stein (D), who recently requested an additional $10 billion in funding.
Local elected officials and members of the public alike have voiced frustration at the slow pace of federal disaster aid. At protests in Asheville ahead of the G20 finance track meetings earlier this month, residents called on the Trump administration to do more to support the region’s recovery.
Chris Cooper, professor of political science and director of the Haire Institute for Public Policy at Western Carolina University, said the president’s remarks are likely to go over “not well at all” with voters in the western part of the state.
“I mean, this was not a time for a joke,” Cooper said in an interview with BPR Thursday. “He did say at the end, ‘I’m just kidding,’ right? Implying that the money’s going to show up no matter what. But I don’t think anybody who’s lost their home or knows somebody who’s lost their home or has seen their communities destroyed is really in a joking mood.”
Cooper added that the president’s comments are not likely to help Republicans electorally or increase faith in government among Western North Carolina residents.
Trump’s remarks prompted criticism from Democrats, including Stein, who said in a post on X that the president’s comments are “no way to respond to a tragic disaster, no way to run a country, no way to campaign for office.”
“Western North Carolinians have been working their tails off for the past two years to recover from Helene,” Stein said in the post. “It’s time for Washington to match their grit and fund our $10 billion request.”
Other Democrats also hammered Trump over the remarks, including Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.).
“Trump isn't joking,” Kim said in a post on X Wednesday night. “He did this to New Jersey and other blue states seeking funding to recover from last winter's storms. What kind of leader does that to their own people?”
North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said the state’s residents deserve to know whether Whatley believes that Helene aid “should be conditional on how North Carolinians vote in November.”
Trump appointed Whatley to serve on his FEMA Review Council shortly after Helene.
Whatley campaign spokesperson DJ Griffin dismissed the president’s remarks and defended the efforts of the Trump administration and Republicans to bolster Western North Carolina’s recovery.
"The President made a joke and said it was a joke,” Griffin said in a statement to BPR Thursday. “What’s not a joke is that President Trump, [Sen.] Ted Budd, [Rep.] Tim Moore, and Michael Whatley have worked together to help deliver $11 billion to NC for disaster recovery. That’s more federal relief than NC has ever received for any previous natural disaster. Roy Cooper and Anderson Clayton are always there on rhetoric but never there on substance."
A recent public opinion poll shows Roy Cooper, the former governor, with a double-digit lead over Whatley, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee.
State Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, the Republican nominee in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, also appeared alongside Trump at the rally. Balkcom, who faces Democrat Jamie Ager in the November, praised Trump’s handling of the economy and social issues, according to WLOS.
