Trump's lies about disaster relief are more of same
By Paul Krugman / The New York Times
On Tuesday, I was part of a City University of New York event about economic perceptions, which was briefly disrupted by a protester yelling out that President Biden isnt helping some of the areas afflicted by Hurricane Helene. The guys politics were unclear he was also yelling something about Israel but it was an indication that Donald Trumps latest lie has gone viral.
In case you missed it, Trump has been trying to exploit the natural disaster for political gain, claiming he heard that the federal government Biden and North Carolinas Democratic governor are going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas. This claim has no basis: Major rescue and recovery operations are underway, and several governors of the affected states including Republicans have praised federal efforts. Trump said that Georgias Republican governor, Brian Kemp, was having a hard time getting the president on the phone. On the contrary, Kemp said that Biden told him that if theres other things we need, just to call him directly which, I appreciate that.
But then, at this point, Trumps campaign rests heavily on made-up stuff. And he clearly seems to believe that he needs new material, because the old material seems to be losing some of its effectiveness.
Before I get into the disaster relief issue, let me note that Trump has been a true innovator in political dishonesty. Lots of politicians have misrepresented their personal histories or the content of their policy proposals; Trump does that, too. But he has also constructed a whole dystopian fantasy world, trying to persuade voters that America is a nation with a collapsing economy overrun by violent immigrants.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/krugman-trumps-lies-about-disaster-relief-are-more-of-same/