FEMA Administrator on misinformation about federal response to Helene: ‘This kind of rhetoric is not helpful’

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell said misinformation regarding Hurricane Helene and the federal government’s response is “not helpful to people.”

In an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos asked Criswell about the misinformation surrounding the federal response to Hurricane Helene, including former President Trump’s misleading claims about the FEMA relief aid available to residents.

“It’s frankly ridiculous and just plain false,” she said. “This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people. You know, it’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do.”

“We’ve had the complete support of the state,” she added. “We’ve had the local officials helping to push back on this dangerous — truly dangerous narrative that is creating this fear of trying to reach out and help us or to register for help.”

Stephanopoulos also questioned Criswell about the impact of misinformation on recovery efforts, noting that a social media user suggested “that a militia should go against FEMA.”

“It has a tremendous impact on the comfort level of our own employees to be able to go out there,” Criswell said.

“I need to make sure I can get the resources to where they are needed, and when you have this dangerous rhetoric like you’re hearing, it creates fear in our own employees and we need to make sure we’re getting help to the people who need it,” she added.

FEMA warned the public about misinformation surrounding the disaster, even launching a “rumor response” page on their website.