White House calls outrage over Helene response ‘bald face lies’

The White House hit back against criticism that it’s bungling the response to Hurricane Helene, which devastated six Southeastern states, killing at least 227.

In a memo, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates dismissed the criticism as “bald face lies” motivated by election-year politicking.

“President Biden and Vice President Harris are bringing Americans together and leading a whole-of-government response to Hurricane Helene. … But some Republican leaders and their partners in the right-wing media are using Hurricane Helene to lie and divide us,” Mr. Bates said.

The Friday memo included a list of quotes from Republican politicians, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, hailing the federal government’s response.

It cited Mr. McMaster’s comments at a recent news conference in which he called the federal response “superb” and said he’s received everything he has requested.

Former President Donald Trump has been critical of the Biden administration’s response to the deadly storm.

“There’s nobody who has handled a hurricane or a storm worse than what they are doing right now,” he said this week.

Mr. Trump has also alleged that the Federal Emergency Management Agency doesn’t have the money to help rebuild the affected areas because it spent more than $1.4 billion to house illegal immigrants.

FEMA has insisted these claims are false, saying the money to house migrants comes from a separate program funded by Congress.

In addition to Mr. Trump, others in the six affected states, including North Carolina and Georgia, have blasted the White House for failing to come through with relief.

“I haven’t seen any federal folks. I haven’t seen FEMA or local emergency crews. It’s just neighbor helping neighbor,” North Carolina state Rep. Donnie Loftis, a Republican, told The Washington Times, calling the response “insufficient.”

Ms. Harris toured the damage in hard-hit North Carolina on Saturday and was briefed by local officials about recovery efforts.

During the briefing, Ms. Harris announced Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, was added to the White House disaster declaration, making it eligible for federal aid.

“I think that these moments of crisis bring out some of the best of who we can be and who we are,” she said. “I’ve been seeing and hearing the stories from here in North Carolina about strangers who are helping each other out, giving people assistance in every way that they need, including shelter, food and friendship and fellowship.”

“And so I thank everyone for all the work that they’ve been doing, those who are in the room and those who are out there right now, working around the clock,” she said.

• Alex Miller contributed to this report.