Disaster relief funding is creeping into Trump's midterm rhetoric.
Critics say it has no place there
[October 08, 2026]
By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA
President Donald Trump has turned emergency relief into a campaign
talking point in the final sprint to the midterm elections, approving
disaster declarations in consequential states and coupling endorsements
with funding announcements. As the country braces for a major hurricane
barreling toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, the moves have revived questions
about whether the administration is politicizing disaster recovery.
The latest example came Wednesday, when Trump voiced support for
Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s governor race while pledging
millions to help with recent storms.
In addition, the president recently joked that he would cut off money to
North Carolina, which is still healing from Hurricane Helene two years
ago, if Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley lost. And the day
before an Ohio campaign rally with Sen. Jon Husted last Saturday, Trump
approved a disaster declaration for the state while leaving 15 other
requests pending.
Disaster survivor advocates say they want elected officials to
prioritize their recovery — not wield it as a political tool.
“Recovery isn’t partisan,” said Sierra Lindsey-Kos, co-founder and
co-executive director of Extreme Weather Survivors, an advocacy
nonprofit.
“Neighbors help each other without asking who anyone voted for, and
that’s exactly the way it should be," she said.
The White House rejected the idea that it's injecting politics into
disaster recovery. “There is no politicization to the president’s
decisions on disaster relief,” spokesperson Lauren Bis said Tuesday.
Trump’s Truth Social posts intertwine endorsements with disaster
funding
Trump has frequently mentioned disaster support in social media posts
about the midterms, sometimes announcing new funding in conjunction with
reminders of endorsements for Republican candidates like Ashley Hinson
in Iowa and Andy Barr in Kentucky.
On Wednesday, Trump posted that he’d spoken to Tiffany, “who has my
Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of the Great
State of Wisconsin,” and told him about $17.9 million in disaster funds
were coming to the state. “18 Million Dollars should help, A LOT,” Trump
wrote. Tiffany is up against Democratic nominee David Crowley in
Wisconsin’s governor’s race.
A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said their office had not
been informed about the money, and Evers responded to the post on social
media.
"Clearly, President Trump and Congressman Tiffany are continuing to play
politics with emergency aid that’s meant to help communities recover in
the wake of disasters like tornadoes and floods."
FEMA later confirmed that Trump approved a disaster declaration for
Wisconsin, along with West Virginia and Guam, though he didn’t announce
those on social media.
Even creating the perception that disaster relief and votes are
connected has traditionally been “out of bounds,” said Rafael LeMaitre,
FEMA spokesperson under former President Barack Obama.
“It diminishes the integrity of the disaster management system and it
erodes trust in the way the government addresses disasters generally,”
he said.
Disaster relief seeps into campaign speeches
When Trump held a rally in North Carolina for Republican Senate
candidate Michael Whatley, the president acknowledged the state was
still waiting for billions of dollars in federal recovery funds for
Hurricane Helene.
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President Donald Trump departs after speaking during an event at
Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“Now if Michael loses, I’m not sending it,” he said. “No, I’m only
kidding, you’re getting it,” he added.
Republican Jennifer Balkcom, a congressional candidate in a western
North Carolina district, later defended Trump's comments.
"I don’t know if he was being funny,” Balkcom told WLOS ABC News 13.
“I think he was trying to persuade voters to vote for Michael
Whatley.”
While the joke might not faze Trump’s most dedicated supporters,
others found it off putting, said Jon Council, who works for the
organizing group Down Home North Carolina.
“That just doesn’t strike me as a person or administration that’s
taking the conditions on the ground here seriously, and taking the
responsibility to the American taxpayer seriously,” Council said.
Trump also brought up disaster relief funds at a campaign rally in
Ohio last Saturday, telling supporters in a high school gymnasium in
Vandalia that he had signed a “special” disaster declaration for the
state after August severe weather.
“You had some bad storms, and Jon and everybody wanted me to help,
and I took care of it,” Trump said, referring to Republican Senator
Jon Husted, who is running a tight reelection race against Democrat
Sherrod Brown.
The major disaster declaration for Ohio authorizes direct assistance
to residents of seven of the 23 counties requested by Republican
Governor Mike DeWine. It came while 15 other requests from states,
tribes and territories remain pending, including two from Hawaii,
which experienced back-to-back hurricanes in August and September.
Trump did not answer pending disaster requests before rallying in
two other Republican states last week with less consequential races,
Oklahoma and Nebraska.
Concerns over politicization predate the midterm elections
Andrew Rumbach, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who tracks
presidential disaster declarations, said politicians “have always
tried to use disasters to their advantage." However, he said this
White House's behavior has been “unusual and frankly concerning."
An Associated Press analysis in July found that Trump had approved
more than three-quarters of the requests from states that voted for
him in the 2024 election but less than half the requests from states
that did not.
A FEMA spokesperson said Tuesday that “any suggestion that disaster
decisions are politically motivated does not reflect how this
process works or how FEMA carries out its mission.”
Politics has permeated recent communications from FEMA itself.
A September news release about preparations for a nor'easter storm
listed 18 Republican members of Congress with whom it said agency
leadership was “working closely” during the weather event, omitting
mention of any Democrats despite the states mentioned being
Democrat-led.
A FEMA spokesperson did not address questions about why only
Republican representatives were named.
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