The claim: Biden said he's not giving any more aid to Hurricane Helene victims
A Sept. 30 Instagram video ( direct link , archive link ) posted by conservative commentator David Harris Jr. shows President Joe Biden speaking with reporters about Hurricane Helene and those impacted by the storm. He tells one reporter, "We've given them all, everything we have."
When one reporter asks Biden if there are any additional resources the government could be providing, Biden says, "No, we've given them, we've pre-planned a significant amount of it, even though they didn't ask for it yet."
Text within the post, which was originally shared on X, formerly Twitter , reads, in part, "Joe Biden says no more additional resources will be given to those affected by Hurricane Helene."
The Instagram post accumulated more than 50,000 likes in a day. Other versions of the claim were shared on Instagram and Facebook .
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Our rating: False
This a misrepresentation of Biden's statement and the reporter's question. The president said the government had provided all the available resources available at the time, not that there would be no additional aid. He later said more aid would be forthcoming for those affected by the hurricane.
Biden didn't say no more aid for hurricane victims
Hurricane Helene's death toll surpassed 160 on Oct. 2, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit the U.S. mainland. Data from the National Hurricane Center shows the current death toll would rank Helene as the sixth-deadliest hurricane since record-keeping began. Hundreds of people are still missing .
Biden declared the hurricane a "major disaster" in a Sept. 28 statement and ordered federal aid for the areas affected by the storm. This aid includes grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.
However, Biden didn't say this would be the only aid the hurricane victims would be receiving.
The video clip included in the Instagram post shows Biden briefly responding to reporters' questions on Sept. 29 at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, according to C-SPAN. After Biden said the government had given hurricane victims "everything we have," a reporter asked, "Are there any more resources the federal government could be giving them?"
The reporter didn't ask if the government would be allocating more aid in the future.
As can be seen in the post, Biden replied by saying, "No. We’ve given them – we have preplanned a significant amount of it, even though they didn’t ask for it yet – hadn’t asked for it yet."
A transcript of this exchange published by the White House reaffirms this.
Jeremy Edwards , a White House spokesperson, told USA TODAY the video shows Biden "clearly referring to all we have done for the communities impacted by Hurricane Helene."
"At the direction of President Biden, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is in North Carolina and will remain there until the situation has stabilized," Edwards said. "FEMA and other agencies have more than 1,200 personnel in North Carolina, with more resources and staff arriving daily."
Fact check : Unrelated storm footage falsely linked to Hurricane Helene
On Sept. 30, the day after the interview shown in the clip, the president said he would be asking Congress for a supplemental aid bill for those affected by the storm.
"We know there is more to do, and we will continue to surge resources, including food, water, communications and lifesaving equipment," Biden said. "We'll be there, as I said before, and I mean it, as long as it takes to finish this job."That same day, Homeland Security Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall spoke about the aid that had already been distributed in the Southeast in a press briefing and said, "More will follow as we know more about the impacts."
The White House detailed the resources already allocated in the affected areas in a Sept. 30 statement and said, "President Biden has spoken with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, along with other state and local officials in the impacted areas to offer further assistance as needed."
The post also attempts to compare aid for Hurricane Helene victims with aid for Ukraine, saying Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris "just gave Ukraine billions more."
Biden announced a new $8 billion military aid package for Ukraine on Sept. 26, hours before the storm touched down in Florida. USA TODAY reported that this package will include air defense weapons, drones and bombs.
USA TODAY reached out to Harris Jr. and Biden's representatives for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
- USA TODAY, Sept. 26, White House, Pentagon announce massive military aid package for Ukraine
- Jeremy Edwards , Oct. 2, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- C-SPAN, Sept. 29, President Biden Speaks with Reporters at Dover Air Force Base
- C-SPAN, Sept. 30, President Biden Remarks on Federal Response to Hurricane Helene
- White House (YouTube), Sept. 30, 09/30/24: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
- White House, Sept. 30, Remarks by President Biden Before Air Force One Departure | Dover, DE
- White House, Sept. 30, FACT SHEET: UPDATE: Biden-Harris Administration’s Continued Response to Hurricane Helene
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Biden didn't say he's done sending aid to Hurricane Helene victims | Fact check
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