North Carolina Rep. Tim Moore says former President Donald Trump has been more responsive than President Joe Biden’s administration since Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina.

Helene caused record flooding in western North Carolina on September 27, killing more than 100 people and displacing hundreds more. Since then, Trump, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have visited each region to survey the damage.

During Trump’s Oct. 21 visit to Asheville, he invited Moore to the microphone to talk about his experience.

“We haven’t received a single call from the White House, but this man and his team have been in touch with us since day one,” Moore saidSpeaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives. His comments were shared on social networks by The Blaze, a conservative media site with over 1 million followers.

PolitiFact checked the facts more claims about MPs involved in Helene relief efforts — including Moore. When we reviewed Moore’s statement about his communication with the Biden administration, we found that the White House tried to contact Moore at least three times by phone or email and spoke to his staff, but Moore did not respond in person never.

On Sept. 30 and Oct. 4, a staff member of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs sent an email to Moore’s legislative email account, White House records show.

“Hello President Moore and team, Hope you are doing well!…I am emailing to check in on you and your constituents after Hurricane Helene,” White House staff said on September 30, the third day after the storm hit . “If you hear from any members of your caucus seeking federal resources, please feel free to forward my contact information. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know.”

White House staff’s Oct. 4 email to Moore referenced a phone call on Oct. 2, the White House said.

“Thank you for talking on the phone earlier this week! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to support you all. I am available by phone or email,” the Oct. 4 email said.

In an Oct. 24 interview with PolitiFact, Moore said he was unaware that the White House staffer had called and emailed his office. That’s because he traveled through the surveying damage in western North Carolina and because the White House staffer spoke to a member of Moore’s staff — not Moore himself — a detail the White House confirmed.

“I didn’t realize I got it,” Moore said during an interview at the state legislative building. “It came to our email and our scheduler had a brief conversation with whoever that employee was.”

Moore also declined to provide evidence for his claim that Trump had been in contact “since the first day of the storm, nor did he share any other details about the communication. The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

In an interview, Moore said the point of his comments was not about who called him or when. The point, he said, was to praise Trump and members of his team for maintaining regular contact with him after Helene struck — and to express his frustration with what he described as a slow response of the government to storm victims who still needed help on the ground.

Moore said Trump, former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley each called him in the days after Helene hit her. Gabbard visited Moore’s district and brought generators, chainsaws and other useful supplies, he said.

Meanwhile, Moore said he was upset to hear from victims that their needs were not being met.

“There were a lot of extra calls we had to make that we shouldn’t have made,” Moore said. “As I was out there (in the disaster area), I was caught by someone who said, ‘I haven’t heard from anyone about this,’ and wanted to know an answer.”

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s office released an update on the response and recovery efforts on Oct. 21, the same day Moore made his comments criticizing the White House’s response.

One press releaseCooper’s office said crews had restored power to all but 5,000 customers in the disaster area. It said most of the cellphone coverage affected by the storm had been restored and that road crews had reopened 789 of the 1,200 roads that were closed as a result of the storm.

Although public schools in 28 districts affected by the storms have reopened, seven remain closed. As road access remained limited, Cooper’s office said the state and federal governments worked with volunteers and nonprofit groups to deliver water, food and medicine to some areas.

As of October 21, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has paid out $129 million to people affected by Helene. More than 207,000 people have signed up for individual financial assistance, and people have filed more than 5,100 applications for Small Business Administration loans.

Cooper’s office added that recovery in the more mountainous areas “would require a single, united and sustained effort that focuses on the people who have lost everything while leaving politics at the door.”

Moore said that while the White House deserves scrutiny for its funding priorities, he has tried to avoid bringing politics into the disaster response. Moore said he wants to give credit where credit is due.

“FEMA people working? They are hardworking people trying to help people here,” Moore said.

Our decision

Moore said, “I haven’t received a single call from the White House.”

White House records showed that a Biden administration staffer called Moore’s office at least once and emailed Moore twice, writing: “Please let me know if there is anything I can do to I support you all.” A White House staffer spoke to one of Moore’s staffers, not Moore directly. Moore said he was not aware of the communication.

The statement contains an element of truth, but ignores key facts that would give a different impression of the White House’s mobilization. We rate mostly false.