North Carolina is more than familiar with hurricanes. In Sept. 2024, Hurricane Helene became the deadliest in the state’s modern history. It devastated western North Carolina, killed over 100 people, and caused massive property and infrastructure damage.
Damage estimates were in the billions, with FEMA committing more than $7.5 billion in projects to repair the damage, support those affected, and begin mitigation efforts for when this inevitably happens again.
Now Donald Trump has threatened North Carolinians that if they don’t vote in November the way he wants, the state can kiss any further funding goodbye. Speaking at a rally in Gastonia in support of GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatley, Trump explained that he’d better win, or else.
Is he actually serious?
Trump said he was aware that North Carolina was waiting for “some additional money” and then casually added, “Now, if Michael loses, I’m not sending it.” Those present appeared to take this as a joke, though the unfortunate reality is that this threat is precisely in line with Trump’s past behavior.
A Politico analysis covering the first 14 months of Trump’s second term revealed he only approved around 23% of disaster relief requests from Democrat-voting states, versus 89% from Republican-voting states. The analysis underlined that this meant an estimated $250 million in aid that prior presidents (including Trump himself in his first term) would likely have approved was withheld.
In a specific case just two months ago, Trump denied requests from Democrat-voting states New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island for federal aid to repair damage from a record-breaking February snowstorm that set records in parts of the region. Politico had emails showing FEMA had determined the states should get it, but Trump overrode them, and later appeals were rejected.
The White House insists that Trump isn’t picking favorites, with their spokespeople instead arguing that Trump simply takes “a more thorough review” than previous presidents to save money. This explanation has been widely dismissed by Democrats, with Rhode Island’s congressional delegation writing a letter to Trump saying it’s “unacceptable to politicize the disaster declaration process.”
What all this means for North Carolina is anyone’s guess. Trump may be joking, but we have to take him at his word and take his threat seriously. As it stands, if North Carolina doesn’t toe the line and vote the way Trump wants them to, it certainly sounds like he’s going to cut off their much-needed disaster relief.
Published: Sep 18, 2026 05:45 am