In his continued attack on the federal response to Hurricane Helene, former President Donald Trump falsely said that no helicopters and no help were sent to the affected areas for days, blaming Vice President Kamala Harris. There’s plenty of evidence that helicopters have been used and that federal, state and local disaster recovery teams have responded to help victims of the storm.
Experts say people cannot create or meaningfully alter hurricanes through existing weather modification techniques. That has not stopped a deluge of social media posts baselessly claiming or implying that Hurricanes Helene and Milton were intentionally created, steered or otherwise controlled by someone.
Federal data do not show that “the flow” or “intake” of illegal fentanyl into the United States has been cut “by half” during the Biden-Harris administration, as Vice President Kamala Harris claimed in television interviews.
The Federal Aviation Administration regularly restricts the airspace over areas affected by natural disasters to allow rescue and relief efforts to take place. But this routine activity has sparked misleading posts online that claimed volunteer drone operators were banned from helping in recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene.
An ad from Vice President Kamala Harris features a Pennsylvania farming couple who say they are “lifelong Republicans” but are voting for Harris. Social media users, citing a video from an Australian news site, falsely claim the couple are “actors” and Democratic donors. The news site has corrected its report.
Social media posts misleadingly claim that “Trump’s Project 2025 will end” the Federal Emergency Management Agency and provide “ZERO federal help” to disaster victims. Project 2025 is not former President Donald Trump’s plan, and there is no evidence that he would “end” FEMA. In fact, his administration spent tens of billions on disaster aid when he was president.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided more than $210 million in immediate assistance to communities affected by Hurricane Helene, which the Department of Homeland Security secretary has described as the start of “a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery.” Social media posts make the false claim that storm victims are getting “only $750,” and misleadingly compare that to foreign aid.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz repeated some of the same false and misleading talking points that he and his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, have made before, including in recent debates.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said that no funds intended for disaster relief have been used to pay for programs that respond to illegal immigration. But former President Donald Trump has falsely claimed that the Biden administration “stole” money for hurricane recovery and spent it on housing for people in the U.S. illegally.
Q: Does Kamala Harris support government-paid gender-affirming surgery for prison inmates and immigrant detainees?
A: The government must provide medical care to prisoners and immigrant detainees. Vice President Kamala Harris expressed support in a 2019 questionnaire for “medically necessary” gender-affirming care, including surgical care, for federal prisoners and detainees. She has not detailed her position in the current campaign.
