Disaster relief funding is creeping into Trump's midterm rhetoric. Critics say it has no place there

Reported by ABC News. The paragraphs below are the opening of that article, reproduced word for word — not a summary, and not the whole piece.

President Donald Trump has turned emergency relief into a campaign talking point as a major hurricane approaches the U.S. Gulf Coast

President Donald Trump has turned emergency relief into a campaign talking point in the final sprint to the midterm elections , approving disaster declarations in consequential states and coupling endorsements with funding announcements. As the country braces for a major hurricane barreling toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, the moves have revived questions about whether the administration is politicizing disaster recovery.

The latest example came Wednesday, when Trump voiced support for Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s governor race while pledging millions to help with recent storms.

In addition, the president recently joked that he would cut off money to North Carolina, which is still healing from Hurricane Helene two years ago, if Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley lost. And the day before an Ohio campaign rally with Sen. Jon Husted last Saturday, Trump approved a disaster declaration for the state while leaving 15 other requests pending.

Disaster survivor advocates say they want elected officials to prioritize their recovery — not wield it as a political tool.

“Recovery isn’t partisan,” said Sierra Lindsey-Kos, co-founder and co-executive director of Extreme Weather Survivors, an advocacy nonprofit.