It’s time now for a fact-check of North Carolina politics. This week, we’re looking at a claim made by President Donald Trump during a recent trip to Asheville.
On Jan. 24, while looking at Hurricane Helene damage and recovery efforts, Trump said this: “Earlier this month, the Biden administration kicked 2,000 displaced North Carolinians out of their temporary housing into freezing 20-degree weather.”
Marshall Terry: For more, I’m joined now by Paul Specht of WRAL. OK. So, this trip by President Trump came about four months after Helene hit western North Carolina. What specifically was Trump talking about when he said 2,000 displaced North Carolinians were kicked out of their temporary housing? What is he citing there?
Paul Specht: We reached out to the White House and asked that very question — and they didn't get back to us. However, Trump's claim looks a lot like some reporting done by Fox News on Jan. 11, when they reported that 2,000 North Carolina residents were no longer going to be meeting FEMA's temporary housing eligibility requirements. So, people that were put up in hotels and other temporary housing were told they no longer met the agency's eligibility.
Terry: What makes someone no longer qualified for temporary housing under FEMA rules?
Specht: There are three big reasons. One is that someone's house has become livable according to an inspector. Number two would be that the homeowner declined to allow someone to inspect their home — so FEMA's constantly going back and checking in on the status of people's properties. But if residents don't allow an inspector to come in and look, and they're not cooperating in that sense, then that can affect their eligibility. And the last one would be they can't reach someone. They're trying to get in touch with one of these property owners who's in the program, but cannot — that can change someone's eligibility status, too. So, those three big things are why FEMA says people become ineligible.
Terry: So, how much longer will FEMA offer temporary housing to people displaced by Helene in North Carolina? And, what has Gov. Josh Stein said?
Specht: Well, the deadline has been pushed back multiple times. Right now, the date to remember is May 26. It was extended a couple of times in January. But Gov. Josh Stein wrote a letter on Jan. 16 to FEMA asking them for an extension, noting that so many of these Helene victims are "experiencing chaos and uncertainty regarding temporary housing that is untenable" — and that extension was granted. And so, on the last day of the Biden administration, he told FEMA to extend the temporary shelter program for these Helene victims until May 26. So, that gives them a little more of a runway to find new housing by then.
Terry: So, how did you rate this claim by President Trump?
Specht: Well, we rated it 'mostly false'. And, now, let's go back over the claim again. He said the Biden administration kicked 2,000 people out into freezing 20-degree weather. The highest number we saw was that 740 families were notified that they had three weeks to move out — and that was the weekend of Jan. 18. So it's fair to say hundreds of people got this notice, but we found no evidence that 2,000 people were actually booted out into the cold with nowhere to go. And ultimately this deadline was extended multiple times — now it's extended into May. So, that's why we felt this was on the 'mostly false' end.
