At a rally in North Carolina for a Senate hopeful he backs, President Donald Trump offered another round of striking remarks.
He threatened to withhold hurricane disaster assistance from the state if voters do not elect Michael Whatley, the Republican candidate, in the forthcoming midterm elections.
The remark came from Trump during a speech in Gastonia, near Charlotte, on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Whatley is trailing by more than ten points in the latest poll, well behind his Democratic challenger and former Gov. Roy Cooper.
In one of the most recent surveys, the ECU Center for Survey Research found Whatley at 39 percent to Cooper’s 46 percent.
Trump referred in his remarks to Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of western North Carolina in September 2024.
‘Dumbest Comeback’: Trump Freezes Mid-Rally as He’s Caught Off Guard by Who’s Heckling Him
“Michael was also an incredible champion for your state when you were struck by that terrible storm,” Trump said.
Helene killed more than 100 people and damaged an estimated 125,000 homes in the state, The Independent reported.
“A lot of people call it…from the standpoint of water, the worst hurricane they’ve ever seen,” he continued before delivering a startling joke.
“The Democrats didn’t do a damn thing. The Republican Congress people came and we got to be friends really fixing this place up and we spent more than $2 billion, FEMA funding and you’re waiting for some additional money to take care of some of the back and I’m going to get that to you, Michael,” Trump boasted.
But then he made a shocking statement.
“Now if Michael loses, I’m not sending it, OK?”
When the stunned crowd simply stared, he quickly backtracked.
“No. I’m only kidding,” he unconvincingly insisted.
But Trump isn’t joking about this.
He’s threatened to withhold disaster funding from states run by his political opponents before. Americans have never seen a U.S. president behave this way in modern history.
Back in June CNN reported Trump threatened to block tens of millions of dollars in Department of Homeland Security funds to states that refused to implement sweeping election changes.
The Independent reported a month later that Trump denied $227 million already approved by FEMA to blue states.
According to Politico, Trump refused to send disaster aid for a February snowstorm to New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. All are states led by Democrats with Democratic U.S. senators.
Social media exploded with disbelief and anger over what critics call Trump’s political games.
“He talks about FEMA disaster relief money as if he’s distributing his own money. That’s utterly disgusting,” one furious X user said.
Another commented, “What about the people who are affected? It isn’t his money.”
Others pointed out that Trump is not joking about withholding funds.
“But he’s not kidding. He held back millions in aid from California because they didn’t vote for him. He’s a petulant little man-child,” another commenter noted.
X user Colleen agreed, “Only a sociopath like him would find that funny.”
In his Gastonia speech, Trump reiterated a pledge he made last week at the unconventional Republican midterm convention in Dallas.
An increasingly bleak Trump told the crowd that if Republicans retain control of Congress, he will send every American adult $5,000.
He’s promised money to Americans before and has not delivered.
Political analysts warn that Republicans are facing a brutal November, as Trump’s policies—along with a war in Iran, rising energy prices, and a national debt exceeding $40 trillion—have left the party exposed.
