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'This is sick': Outrage as Trump taunts rallygoers with hurricane relief
Attendees during a campaign rally for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley at Gastonia Municipal Airport in Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S., September 16, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Disaster Relief as a Loyalty Payment
The Threat Was the Point
Donald Trump did not merely endorse Michael Whatley in North Carolina’s Senate race. He told voters that additional federal hurricane aid depended on Whatley winning: “If Michael loses, I’m not sending it.”
That is the essential fact. Everything else—the laughter, the groans, the online outrage—is secondary. A president publicly presented…
The skinny
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