From COVID to Helene, Trump's Lies Make Him the Real Disaster in Every Crisis

Trump’s lies and disinformation during times of crisis continue to endanger American lives, exposing his inability to provide serious leadership.

In the face of Hurricane Helene’s destruction, Donald Trump has once again proven himself to be not just unfit to lead, but an active danger in moments of crisis. His dismissive comments calling it “a little hurricane” on September 27, as reports of widespread death and destruction poured in, are a chilling reminder of how Trump treats every disaster as just another opportunity to feed his own ego. This is the same man who told Americans the COVID-19 pandemic was under control as hundreds of thousands were losing their lives. Now, he’s playing the same dangerous game—this time with the lives of those affected by Hurricane Helene.

Trump’s response to the devastation is nothing short of grotesque. As communities mourn their dead and face unimaginable loss, he offered the kind of hollow, tone-deaf reassurance that only a man devoid of empathy could muster: “You’ll be okay.” It’s the same empty rhetoric he spewed during the pandemic, where he repeatedly downplayed the virus, contradicted medical experts, and refused to take responsibility for the carnage that unfolded under his watch.

Trump on Monday said: “Nobody thought this would be happening, especially now it’s so late in the season for hurricanes.” This sounds awfully similar to his comments on February 27, 2020, when he said regarding COVID, “It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear. And from our shores, we — you know, it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We’ll see what happens. Nobody really knows”

In both situations, people did, in fact, know. Experts had been warning about COVID since at least late 2019. Even before then, Trump had been warned about the effect of future pandemics. Trump ignored these warnings and disregarded the pandemic playbook left by the Obama administration. Trump’s comment that “nobody thought” a hurricane would happen in peak hurricane season would be laughable if it were not so dangerous.

Trump has frequently resorted to one of his favorite forms of disinformation—denying the underlying cause of the crisis altogether. “[Climate change] is one of the great scams of all time,” Trump declared on Sunday, while the storm was ongoing, echoing his years of calling climate change a “hoax.” This cynical dismissal of a scientifically proven threat is eerily reminiscent of his handling of COVID-19, when he repeatedly referred to the pandemic as a “hoax” engineered by his political opponents. In both cases, Trump’s knee-jerk reaction to downplay the crisis and spread lies to his followers has only served to deepen the destruction and prolong the suffering of those affected.

But, true to form, Trump didn’t stop at indifference—he resorted to outright lies. On September 30, he claimed that President Biden and Vice President Harris weren’t helping red states hit by the storm and hadn’t even contacted governors, like Georgia’s Brian Kemp. This was a brazen and malicious lie. Kemp himself debunked Trump’s claims, confirming that Biden had spoken with him the day before and offered additional support. The fact that Trump has the audacity to spread such blatant lies in the middle of a disaster, where lives are hanging in the balance, is a testament to how dangerous his disinformation truly is.

Republican governors, including Kemp, Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin, and South Carolina’s Henry McMaster, have openly praised the Biden administration’s swift and coordinated response. Yet Trump, in his delusion and pathological need for relevance, invents a false reality where Biden is negligent, and only Trump can save the day. It’s the same disinformation playbook he used during COVID-19—twist the facts, blame the other side, and watch chaos ensue. The casualties, of course, are the American people.

What makes this even more appalling is that Trump’s willingness to lie and distort the truth during disasters isn’t just a failure of leadership—it’s a calculated, dangerous tactic that puts lives at risk. We saw it during COVID-19, when his reckless promotion of unproven treatments and refusal to take decisive action led to hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths. Now, during Hurricane Helene, his lies are designed to stoke division, distract from his own ineptitude, and undermine the very relief efforts that are saving lives.

This is not new for Trump. During Hurricane Matthew, North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Roy Cooper tweeted in frustration when Trump’s administration provided less than 1% of the recovery aid requested. Trump has a long history of treating blue states with contempt during crises, and now, he’s attempting to weaponize a natural disaster to sow division, claiming Biden is ignoring Republican states. Even just a couple weeks ago, Trump threatened that if elected, he would not give California federal money to help put out wildfires. The fact that Republican governors themselves are debunking this narrative makes Trump’s deceit even more pathetic.

President Biden, by contrast, has demonstrated exactly the kind of leadership America needs in times of crisis—swift, coordinated action with a focus on facts and compassion. When asked about Trump’s lies, Biden responded with righteous anger: “He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying. … I don’t care about what he says about me, but I care what he communicates to the people that are in need.” Biden’s fury is well-placed because Trump’s reckless disinformation doesn’t just hurt his political rivals—it actively endangers Americans who need to trust that their government is working for them, not against them.

Crises like Hurricane Helene demand real leadership. They demand clarity, competence, and above all, a commitment to protecting human lives. Trump offers none of these things. Instead, he brings a chaotic mix of narcissism, lies, and gross incompetence to the table, turning every disaster into a stage for his ego. His inability to grasp the gravity of these moments makes him more than just unfit to lead—he’s an active threat to the safety and well-being of Americans.

Trump's approach to both Hurricane Helene and the COVID-19 pandemic reveals a man whose selfishness, cruelty, and disregard for truth leave devastation in his wake. In times of crisis, the American people need leaders who value their lives more than their own image, not a man who spreads lies while the country burns, floods, or drowns. Trump is not just unfit for office—he’s a walking disaster of his own.