Biden vents frustration at Trump during hurricane briefing: ‘Get a life’

President Biden on Thursday laid bare his frustration with former President Donald Trump, whom he accused of lying about the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton and funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

When asked if he had spoken to Mr. Trump, the president sighed and looked into the camera.

“Former President Trump, get a life, man. Help these people,” Mr. Biden said from the White House, before urging the press to hold the GOP nominee accountable for his statements about the storms.

“You better — in the press — hold him accountable because you know the truth,” he said

Mr. Biden chastised Mr. Trump for saying that people impacted by the storms would receive $750 and no more, a claim the president said was simply untrue.

“Mr. Trump and all those other people know it’s a lie to suggest that’s all they are going to get. That’s bizarre. It’s bizarre. They’ve got to stop this. It’s so damn un-American with the way they’ve been talking about this stuff,” Mr. Biden said.

The president has been criticizing Mr. Trump all week for what he called an “onslaught of lies” about the response to the storms, but on Thursday Mr. Biden was exasperated. When a reporter switched topics to ask about the Middle East crisis, Mr. Biden snapped back that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “coming over to help with the storm.” 

When asked if he had thought about calling Mr. Trump, the president responded, “Oh come on.” 

Mr. Trump has repeatedly bashed the Biden administration’s response to the storms. At a rally on Wednesday, Mr. Trump called the administration’s handling of the storm the “worst hurricane response since Katrina.” 

The lashing out at Mr. Trump overshadowed Mr. Biden’s message that “lifesaving measures” made a difference in mitigating the loss of life in Florida from Hurricane Milton. As of Thursday afternoon, the death toll from Milton had reached 11.

“There’s still very dangerous conditions in the state,” Mr. Biden said. “People should wait to be given ‘all clear’ by their leader before they go out.”