The View co-host also added that “not a dime” of federal disaster relief funds has gone to “resettling migrants”
Federal and local Agencies have provided life-saving support for Hurricane Helene survivors, yet misinformation about the recovery relief efforts continues to spread. During a Monday episode of The View, co-host Whoopi Goldberg commended the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for supporting survivors in the Southeast, while also slamming the tsunami of baseless misinformation pushed by Donald Trump.
“Many Republican governors and mayors are praising the response but of course that hasn't stopped you know who and his people from resorting to straight-up lies about this,” Goldberg saidreferring to the former president.
During a Thursday rally in Michigan, Trump claimed that the Biden administration “stole” FEMA disaster relief, “So, they can give it to their illegal immigrants they want to have vote for them.” In a Truth Social post, Trump continued to bolster his false claims, saying North Carolina had been “stood up by Harris and Biden, who are giving almost all of the FEMA money to Illegal Migrants in what is now considered to be the WORST rescue operation in the history of the US”
Goldberg countered that. “Not a dime of disaster relief has gone to resettling migrants or anybody else,” and called Trump's claims a “bald-faced lie.”
The View co-host Ana Navarro, who said she lived in hurricane-prone Florida for more than four decades, continued the conversation and said that the misinformation has discouraged survivors from applying for aid, and FEMA has had to redirect its resources to combat misinformation.
“I just don't know what else they can possibly blame on immigrants,” Navarro said. “Are they going to blame immigrants for Donald Trump having five pieces of hair left on his head? It's just the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.”
FEMA put up a rumor response page on its website, informing families and community members affected by Hurricane Helene to avoid sharing information from unverified sources. The page also includes a fact-checked list around how to apply for Hurricane Helene aid, who qualifies for aid, and debunked that funds are being diverted to border-related issues.