‘Flat Out Lie’: North Carolina Governor Nukes Trump For Putting ‘Rescue Workers in Danger’ With Rhetoric

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) slammed Donald Trump for spreading a “flat out lie” about his administration’s efforts to help Hurricane Helene flood victims.

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, FEMA and the Biden administration have struggled to provide victims with assistance due to rampant misinformation being spread online. Trump himself spread some of those claims while the administration was working on rescue efforts for hurricane victims.

On Friday, Trump took to Truth Social where he claimed Democrats in Washington and Cooper were “blocking” money and assistance to help people hurt by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. The former president then claimed that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris “knew about it.”

“It has just come out that Democrats in Washington and the Democrat Governor’s Office of North Carolina (Roy Cooper) were blocking people and money from coming into North Carolina to help people in desperate need,” Trump wrote. “Biden knew about it, and so did Kamala! It’s all over the place – A HORRIBLE SITUATION. I will make it up to everyone when we take Office on January 20th. HOLD ON, I’M COMING!”

Cooper replied to Trump’s false claims on X slamming the GOP nominee for hurting the morale of first responders by spreading “conspiracy theories.”

“This is a flat out lie. We’re working with all partners around the clock to get help to people,” Cooper wrote on X. “Trump’s lies and conspiracy theories have hurt the morale of first responders and people who lost everything, helped scam artists and put government and rescue workers in danger.”

Claims spread online by the hard right have included saying that FEMA will confiscate the property of evacuees and that the rescue crews have blockaded victims’ routes home, which has fomented anger at FEMA workers. Posts also falsely claimed that local sheriffs were arresting FEMA workers. Reuters reported that posts even went so far as to call “on the public to ask sheriffs to deputize the rescue workers in the state, “That way we can arrest FEMA ourselves.”