SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) 鈥� Surveying storm damage in North Carolina, former President on Monday blasted federal emergency responders whose work has been stymied by and a deluge of , but he said he was not concerned that the aftermath of would affect election results in the battleground state.
Trump was asked whether it was helpful to criticize hurricane relief workers after the Federal Emergency Management Agency recently paused work in the area because of reports they could be targeted by militia. He responded by again assailing the agency and repeating the falsehood that the response was hampered because FEMA spent its budget helping people who crossed the border illegally. That claim was weeks ago by U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., who stood behind Trump as he spoke.
鈥淲ell, I think you have to let people know how they鈥檙e doing," Trump told reporters in Swannanoa, outside Asheville. 鈥淚f they were doing a great job, I think we should say that, too, because I think they should be rewarded. ... If they鈥檙e doing a poor job, we鈥檙e supposed to not say it?鈥�
Trump's campaign and that of his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, are ramping up their activity in North Carolina again after the storm. Trump had three stops in the state Monday. After the Asheville area, he held a rally across the state in Greenville and was slated to speak later at a faith leaders event in Concord, outside Charlotte.
Harris on Monday ,鈥� traveling to suburban Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. She held a series of conversations with moderated by GOP strategist Sarah Longwell, publisher of the Bulwark, a commentary site for anti-Trump conservatives, and conservative radio host Charlie Sykes. Trump won those three states in 2016 and lost them in 2020, and Harris could all but lock up the presidency if she swept them.
Cheney, a former Wyoming congressman who lost her seat after she spoke out against Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, offered advice to her fellow Republicans who are uneasy with Trump but not comfortable broadcasting support for a Democrat.
鈥淵ou can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody," Cheney said.
Hurricane Helene displaced thousands of voters
Many North Carolina counties affected by Hurricane Helene moved Election Day precincts or changed early voting sites. Thousands of voters remained displaced or without power or water as early voting commenced. Both parties are scrambling to check their turnout operations.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working every channel we can, you know?鈥� Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley, a North Carolinian, said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be doing phone calls. We鈥檙e going to be doing direct mail. We鈥檒l be doing emails and digital 鈥� basically anything we can do to let people know where to go.鈥�
Despite extensive damage across western North Carolina, Trump said he saw no reason for the storm to cast doubt on the North Carolina election results.
鈥淣o, I think in a way, it鈥檚 the opposite,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淚 mean, we鈥檙e so impressed, and I think they have a pretty good system here.鈥�
Republican Renee Kyro, who lives a short drive from , said she knows 鈥減lenty of Trump supporters who lost everything,鈥� and others who remain in their homes but don鈥檛 have reliable internet or phone connections and may not know their polling location.
鈥淚鈥檒l go door to door if I have to,鈥� she said.
State Sen. Natalie Murdock, who doubles as political director for Democrats' coordinated campaign in the state, said the party has the apparatus to reach their target voters in the disaster zone. Field workers in some of Democrats鈥� two-dozen-plus offices around the state have engaged in recovery efforts, distributing water and other supplies to residents.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, urged Trump not to "share lies or misinformation鈥� about the storm recovery.
Many storm survivors lost everything, and they want help and truth, Cooper said Monday at a briefing in Asheville.
鈥淲e should work together to give them both,鈥� the governor said. 鈥淪torm recovery cannot be partisan."
Edwards, who represents Asheville and surrounding areas in Congress, put out a long statement last month debunking 鈥渙utrageous rumors鈥� that FEMA was halting trucks from bringing in supplies, abandoning rescue efforts to bulldoze , running out of money and more. He did not defend FEMA from Trump鈥檚 criticism Monday.
Instead, Edwards, who owns McDonald鈥檚 franchises, presented Trump with what he called a 鈥淔rench fry certification pin" in a nod to the former president's photo opportunity Sunday at one of the fast-food restaurants.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Trump's FEMA comments 鈥渄angerous鈥� and said they had been . She said 5,500 federal personnel were in North Carolina and Florida after Helene and Hurricane Milton and noted that $2 billion in federal assistance had been approved for those affected in North Carolina.
鈥淭hey are dangerous,鈥� Jean-Pierre said of Trump鈥檚 remarks. 鈥淭hey are unhelpful. It is not what leadership looks like.鈥�
Democrats are running both on Helene and Mark Robinson
Even before Helene, North Carolina was all the more compelling because of its history of split-ticket voting. It鈥檚 one of the few states that features competitive governor鈥檚 races concurrent with presidential contests.
Democrats have carried the presidential electoral vote just once since 1992 鈥� in Barack Obama's narrow win in 2008. Republicans have won just one governor鈥檚 race in the same span. Four years ago, Cooper won reelection by 4.5 points despite Trump outpacing Biden. He's prevented by term limit laws from running again.
Democrats hope Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson鈥檚 latest struggles, centered on CNN鈥檚 revelations that the state's first Black lieutenant governor once called himself a 鈥淏lack Nazi鈥� and posted lascivious statements on a porn website, turn thousands of Cooper-Trump voters into supporters of Harris and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Stein. Robinson has denied the allegations and CNN, calling its report defamatory.
Trump demurred Monday when asked whether voters should support Robinson, whom Trump has endorsed and has referred to as 鈥淢artin Luther King on steroids.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 not familiar with the state of the race right now,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 seen it.鈥�
___
Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, Colleen Long in Washington and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.
Michelle L. Price And Bill Barrow, The Associated Press
