Rather than preparing for Hurricane Helene, Roy Cooper was at a climate change gala in NYC with his liberal elite friends. He did nothing as governor to assist the recovery efforts. Michael Whatley has done more as a private citizen to help WNC recover than Cooper ever did as... the governor.show more

The core claim about Roy Cooper’s location and preparation is not accurate, according to contemporaneous records and later fact-checks.Cooper attended the New York Times Climate Forward event in New York City on September 25, 2024, as a speaker discussing clean energy. He returned to North Carolina the same day (by about 3 p.m.). That was two days before Helene’s major impacts reached western North Carolina on September 27.

@WhatleyNC The Republican Party is in disarray because they have nothing to offer but lies. Repeating lies doesn’t make them true.

@WhatleyNC Sadly we know too much about Roy and don’t want him back.

@WhatleyNC Reminder that the Iranian IRGC regime wants you to vote for Cooper. What does that tell you?

@WhatleyNC If it wasn't for Elon, we wouldn't have had communication for months in the Mtns

@WhatleyNC Except he wasn’t. Y’all lie so bad, almost as bad as trump’s hair.

@WhatleyNC You’re so full of shit we can smell it from DC.

@WhatleyNC You’re Trump’s guy right? Hard pass

@WhatleyNC That’s untrue. Whatley’s got nothing.

@WhatleyNC 👇👇👇

@WhatleyNC

@WhatleyNC

@WhatleyNC Even the Republicans are cutting bait on this Whatley idiot.

Cooper was in New York on September 25, 2024, speaking at a New York Times Climate Forward event. It was not a “gala,” and PolitiFact found it was not a fundraiser. More importantly, he returned to North Carolina that same day. Helene struck western North Carolina on September 27.

@WhatleyNC Michael Whatley cannot tell the truth. I am so tired of seeing his distortions of the truth and even more irritated that so many believe it including members of my own family.

@WhatleyNC Hey @grok are these allegations by @whatleync accurate?

@WhatleyNC Cooper came back the same day. This has been debunked.

@WhatleyNC This guy has nothing to run on other than the lies. He has no plans to make our lives better. He’s a Trump rubber stamp!

This is remarkably easy to fact-check. Cooper returned from New York on Sept. 25, two days before Helene devastated WNC. Before the storm arrived, he had declared a statewide emergency and NC was deploying the National Guard, swift-water rescue and search-and-rescue teams. He later requested the federal disaster declaration, proposed $3.9 billion in state recovery funding and sought $25.57 billion from Washington. You can criticize Cooper’s response. You cannot truthfully say he was at a NYC “gala” when Helene hit or that he “did nothing” for recovery. And if Michael Whatley has done more for WNC recovery than Cooper did as governor, publish the receipts. That’s a factual claim. Show us the work.

@WhatleyNC Cassie likes to block people instead of discussing policies and suggestions. Hey @WhatleyNC, if you want to win, tell North Carolinians what you will do for US, and stop slinging mud. These negative campaigns are killing you.

@WhatleyNC So put it in a TV ad!

@WhatleyNC You Lie. You Lie, hoping to take advantage of gullible, uneducated people. Meanwhile, in the real world, the biggest GOP PAC has abandoned Maga Mike Whatley's hopeless campaign because they know a nincompoop loser when they see one. Roy Cooper for the Win!

@WhatleyNC Nothing new . It was the people that help . The red cross and other groups just fucked around and still fucking around .what ever to make them look good . Damn .

@WhatleyNC This is as fake as Melania’s tits

@WhatleyNC Dude you are lying.

@WhatleyNC You were in charge of the relief effort. Tell us how that worked out. Please. Some people STILL are ‘t resettled. That wasn’t on Cooper. That was on YOU.

Why should anyone believe anything that Whatley says?No. Then-Gov. Roy Cooper was in Raleigh when Hurricane Helene’s worst impacts hit North Carolina, not at a gala in New York.PolitiFact and WRAL fact-checks rate the claim that he was in New York “during the storm itself” or “when Helene slammed into North Carolina” as false. The timeline:On Sept. 25, 2024, Helene was a Category 1 hurricane off Florida. Cooper declared a state of emergency that day, then flew to New York and spoke at a public New York Times “Climate Forward” conference (with speakers including Jane Goodall and Al Roker). His office said he was back in North Carolina by 3 p.m. that day. On Sept. 26 he held an 11 a.m. briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, warned of catastrophic flooding, and announced National Guard activations. Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, at about 3:10 a.m. on Sept. 27 and moved into North Carolina that morning. The heaviest wind and rain in western North Carolina came that day. Cooper held an 11 a.m. briefing in Raleigh and requested an expedited federal disaster declaration. Fact-checkers found no evidence he left the state.

@WhatleyNC only water guns in this play room.

@WhatleyNC