Opinion: Florida braces for dual threat of Hurricane Milton and Trump's self-serving lies

I grew up in Florida, and I can tell you hurricanes don’t give a damn about your politics. They’re vicious, destructive, deadly. They’re downright humbling.

So as Hurricane Milton roars across the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 5 storm , with the west coast of Florida square in its path, it’s the height of stupid that Floridians and Americans in general have to worry about two things: the potentially unprecedented destruction the storm might leave in its wake, and the dangerous and destructive lies the Republican nominee for president might spout once the storm has passed.

You’re welcome to scoff at me equating the two things, but former President Donald Trump’s lies and misinformation since Hurricane Helene wrecked havoc across the South have done serious harm ‒ and they continue to sow confusion and distrust.

Trump's lies in the wake of Hurricane Helene have done real harm

Trump has, in just the past week:

• Pushed the false and ludicrous narrative that government officials have been “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”
• Claimed that President Joe Biden wasn’t in touch with governors in states hit by Helene (he was, and the governors said as much).
• Fabricated a sick claim that Vice President Kamala Harris has “spent all her FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants.”
• Outrageously lied that there have been “no helicopters, no rescue” in North Carolina, when the state reported Saturday that “53 search and rescue teams from North Carolina and beyond, consisting of more than 1,600 personnel have conducted search and rescue operations.”

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. His cynical attempts to use a deadly natural disaster to help his struggling reelection campaign created a permission structure for right-wing loons to flood social media sites with misinformation, ranging from GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s suggestion that the government is controlling the weather to, as The New York Times reported , “calls for residents to form militias to defend against FEMA staff members, as well as antisemitic and misogynistic threats against them.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told ABC News : “This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people. It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people.”

Opinion: Helene devastated my NC community. What I saw next helped me survive.

Trump-led misinformation saps time from recovery efforts

Samantha Montano, an assistant professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, told The Times : “I have been doing disaster work for nearly 20 years, and I cannot think of another acute disaster where there has been this much misinformation.”

The incessant lies have forced relief agencies and local officials to devote precious time to debunking nonsense. The American Red Cross posted on social media : “Sharing rumors online without first vetting the source and verifying facts ultimately hurts people ‒ people who have just lost their homes, neighborhoods, and, in some cases, loved ones.”

Aaron Ellenburg, a North Carolina sheriff, told The Times : “I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m sick and tired of this crap.”

'Trump has politicized the situation at every turn'

And what’s truly remarkable is the primary source of “this crap” is a man who thinks he should be elected president. The Charlotte Observer's editorial board weighed in on the chaos Trump has caused, calling it “shameful”:

“This is not a situation to capitalize on for political gain. But former President Donald Trump has politicized the situation at every turn, spreading falsehoods and conspiracies that fracture the community instead of bringing it together. Let’s be clear: Western North Carolina is not a political football. This is not a campaign opportunity. The most unhelpful thing any politician ‒ or anyone else ‒ can do right now is spread misinformation and tell people that their government isn’t doing anything to help them.”

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Hurricane Milton threatens Florida. So how will Trump respond?

So now, with Hurricane Milton expected to hit Florida sometime Wednesday, the question is: Will Trump do the same thing with this potential disaster as he did with the previous disaster?

We all know the answer: Of course he will. He will put himself and his political ambitions above all else. Above the safety of residents in the state he now calls home. Over the needs of recovery crews and the government agencies that work tirelessly to save lives and help people rebuild.

His words and social media posts will cause confusion. They will divide people at a time when unity is essential. They will be amplified by his opportunistic minions, from Elon Musk to Greene to whichever bad actors see a chance to elevate themselves at the expense of any sense of decency.

Opinion: I worried my friends in NC wouldn't survive Helene. They told me how they did.

There's nothing normal about a presidential candidate behaving this way

This should not be happening. What we’ve seen in North Carolina and Georgia and Florida since Hurricane Helene are good people working together and helping each other. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Nothing can fully fix a tragedy, but unity goes a long way toward easing the pain.

But Trump abhors unity. He wants chaos spun to his own benefit.

Facing a storm the likes of Hurricane Milton is bad enough. Americans, and Floridians in particular, shouldn’t also have to worry about how a dishonest presidential candidate might make things worse.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Florida braces for dual threat of Hurricane Milton and Trump's self-serving lies