As Hurricane Helene death toll grows, Biden defends US government response
US President Joe Biden will visit storm-ravaged North Carolina, where hundreds are still unaccounted for
The death toll from a devastating storm that battered the southeastern United States climbed to at least 130 on Monday, as the disaster became a hot topic in an already bitter election campaign, with the White House angrily refuting claims it had been slow to respond.
With hundreds still unaccounted for across several southeastern US states and the death toll climbing, President Joe Biden announced he would travel to storm-ravaged North Carolina Wednesday to monitor rescue efforts.
Biden also accused former president Donald Trump of spreading lies, after the Republican presidential candidate charged, without evidence, that the federal government was ignoring the disaster brought on by Hurricane Helene and denying help to his supporters.
“He’s lying,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he had spoken to North Carolina governor Roy Cooper “and he told him he’s lying. I don’t know why he does it … that’s simply not true, and it’s irresponsible.”
Later on CNN, Cooper, a Democrat, said when asked about Trump’s accusations of Republican victims being ignored: “It makes no difference who you are. If you need help, we are going to provide it.
