Trump says he was 'only kidding' after threatening Helene aid cut for NC

Esther Frances, The News & Observer on Sep 17, 2026

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President Donald Trump threatened to withhold Helene relief funding for North Carolina if Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley does not win the seat — after which the president said he’s “only kidding.”

Trump on Wednesday held a rally at Gastonia Municipal Airport in Gaston County where he spoke about crime in the state and stumped for Whatley, who is facing Democrat and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper in November for the Senate seat.

Throughout his rally remarks, the president often mentioned Helene, the remnants of a hurricane that caused devastating destruction across Western North Carolina in September 2024. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has said the federal government has provided more than $2 billion to the state to support recovery and mitigation projects.

Trump said he knows that North Carolinians are “waiting for some additional money to take care” of projects.

“Now, if Michael (Whatley) loses, I’m not sending it. OK?” Trump said at the rally. “No, I’m only kidding. You’re getting it. You’re going to get it.”

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson in December 2025 won a lawsuit alongside several other attorneys general after FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security refused to release millions of dollars allocated for Helene recovery and other projects, The N&O previously reported.

Reactions to Trump’s joke

Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, told The News & Observer that Trump “said he was kidding.”

“No Americans should ever be denied disaster aid because of their political beliefs,” she wrote in a statement. “President Trump stopped the politicization of disaster relief.”

DJ Griffin, the communications director for Whatley’s campaign, told The N&O that the “President made a joke and said it was a joke.”

Griffin said Trump, alongside Whatley and Republican elected officials representing North Carolina, have worked to deliver billions to the state for disaster recovery.

Jordan Monaghan, a spokesperson for the Cooper campaign, told The N&O that “hurricane recovery isn’t a joke and North Carolina families who are still rebuilding aren’t pawns in a revenge scheme.”

Some environmental advocacy organizations, including the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters and Climate Power, did not think the president’s joke was very funny.

“That 'joke' was not just lighthearted banter, but a dangerous continuation of how the Trump administration has repeatedly politicized disaster aid and made it harder for North Carolina families to rebuild after Hurricane Helene,” Climate Power wrote in a press release.