ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Hurricane Milton is closing in on Florida's west coast and is forecast to make landfall tonight. The major Category 3 hurricane is expected to be one of the most devastating to hit the region.
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KEVIN GUTHRIE: Your home and belongings can be replaced, but unfortunately, you cannot. Neither can your family.
SHAPIRO: That's Florida Emergency Director Kevin Guthrie. Earlier today, he urged Floridians to find shelter and safety. Governor Ron DeSantis said he's put resources in place so they'll be ready to go once the storm passes.
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RON DESANTIS: Six thousand Florida Guard soldiers and an additional 3,000 from other states, 34 search-and-rescue aircraft and 500 tactical vehicles - this is the largest storm mobilization in the history of the state of Florida.
SHAPIRO: At the White House, President Biden spoke this evening saying Milton could be one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit Florida in over a century.
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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: So my final message tonight is to the people of Florida and all the impacted states. We've got your back. We've got your back.
SHAPIRO: The president also condemned people for spreading lies about disaster recovery, including former President Trump. NPR's Stephen Fowler listened to that briefing, and he's on the line with us now. Hi, Stephen.
STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Hey there.
SHAPIRO: As we just heard, Milton's expected to be one of the worst storms to have hit western Florida. What preparations are being made to help pick up the pieces once it passes?
FOWLER: When Biden spoke this afternoon at the White House, they outlined a slew of things that are in place. There's thousands of federal personnel. There's search-and-rescue teams, helicopters and other supplies ready to spring into action that's being prepositioned close to Florida. Then there's all the resources that have currently been deployed to help in the aftermath of Helene, which hit the Southeast two weeks ago. Biden's message of we've got your back is there for reassurance and also to push back against some of the falsehoods that are being spread about what has and hasn't been done to help out.
SHAPIRO: Yeah. Let's talk more about those falsehoods 'cause Biden was very specific and sharp in his criticism of people who have been spreading those rumors.
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BIDEN: Assertions have been made that property is being confiscated. That's simply not true. They're saying people impacted by these storms will receive $750 in cash and no more. That is simply not true, either. They're saying that money needed for these crises are being diverted to migrants. What the hell - heck are they talking about? Stop it. It's outrageous. It's just not true.
SHAPIRO: Stephen, tell us what he's talking about there.
FOWLER: So Biden mentioned just a few of the numerous lies about FEMA and the administration's response to the hurricane that have been floating around there. It swept across the Southeast and especially hammered western North Carolina. Now Milton is bearing down on Florida. Trump and others have used this storm as a political cudgel to try to attack Vice President Kamala Harris and demonize immigrants. It's part of his presidential campaign message. Here's Trump earlier today in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
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DONALD TRUMP: They spent all their funds. They have no funds to take care. They have no funds. They have no workers. They have no nothing. FEMA - we had such a good FEMA. We had - FEMA was great under Trump. That, I can tell you. We had tremendous success.
FOWLER: Then you've got Republican members of Congress, like Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene suggesting the government is somehow controlling the weather, and others still implying it's a plot to suppress Republican turnout. Biden called it un-American and stupid and ridiculous. And officials have said that this is hurting the ability for people who've been devastated by these storms to actually get the help that they need.
SHAPIRO: What are Republicans in the path of the storm saying about help from the federal government?
FOWLER: You know, Ari, this is a night-and-day difference. Most of the misinformation and attacks and conspiracies are coming from outside voices. Biden said today that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been gracious and that he's not criticized anything. I mean, Biden approved Florida's disaster declaration. They said they have good phone calls and everything. With the last hurricane, you saw this with Georgia's Republican governor Brian Kemp, South Carolina's Republican governor Henry McMaster and even North Carolina's Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, all of them focused on the task at hand of helping their residents and not scoring political points.
SHAPIRO: And speaking of helping residents, how have these storms affected election officials in planning for voting?
FOWLER: Yeah. I mean, we're less than a month away from election day. Many states are already casting ballots. There's been a lot of flexibility. In North Carolina, lawmakers just approved a relief package that also codifies some changes that North Carolina's elections board made. It expands access to absentee by mail voting for affected counties. There's flexibility for Election Day polling sites and early voting, which starts next Thursday. In Florida, officials there have been working on changes since Helene swept through, and unfortunately, they do have more experience with adjusting voting because of deadly storms. One thing I'll note, Ari - the easiest method of voting for people displaced by the hurricane is absentee by mail, which Trump has attacked often, so expect that messaging to shift.
SHAPIRO: That's NPR's Stephen Fowler. Thank you.
FOWLER: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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