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US president accuses predecessor of leading ‘onslaught of lies’ about government’s response to the storms.
United States President Joe Biden has condemned misinformation about Hurricanes Milton and Helene as “un-American”, singling out his predecessor for making false claims about the government’s rescue and recovery efforts.
Speaking as Hurricane Milton was on the verge of making landfall in Florida on Wednesday, Biden said people in need of help were being put at risk by the “reckless, irresponsible and relentless” promotion of disinformation about the government’s response to the storms.
“Quite frankly, these lies are un-American,” Biden said in remarks at the White House.
“Former President Trump has led this onslaught of lies.”
Biden signalled out a number of baseless claims made by Trump, including that disaster relief funds had been diverted to migrants.
“What a ridiculous thing to say. It’s not true,” Biden said.
Asked by reporters why he thought Trump was spreading false claims about the government’s response, Biden said he did not know.
“I simply don’t know. You can speculate, but I just find it – I’ve used the phrase more than I’ve ever used it in my career – it’s un-American. It’s un-American. It’s not who the hell we are,” he said.
Biden also condemned the promotion of “even more bizarre” claims by Republican House of Representatives member Marjorie Taylor Greene, a close Trump ally.
“Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, is now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather – we’re controlling the weather,” he said. “It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s got to stop.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for November’s presidential election, levelled similar criticism at Trump in an interview with CNN, branding his behaviour “unconscionable”.
“We all know it’s dangerous, and the gamesmanship has to stop at some point, the politics have to end, especially in a moment of crisis,” Harris said.
Trump on Wednesday reiterated his criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis.
“This administration has not done a proper job at all. Terrible, terrible,” Trump said at a campaign rally in the key swing state of Pennsylvania.
“We just pray for everybody,” he said. “We hope that God will keep them safe.”
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida at about 8:30pm (01:30 GMT Thursday) local time, battering the coastal state with winds of up to 193km/h (120mph).
Milton, which the National Hurricane Center has described as “extremely dangerous” and “life-threatening”, comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene killed at least 230 people across Florida and several other southern states.
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