On Tuesday, I participated in a City University of New York event on economic perceptions, which was briefly interrupted by a protester shouting that President Joe Biden is not helping some of the areas affected by Hurricane Helene. The guy's politics weren't clear – he also yelled something about Israel – but it was an indication that Donald Trump's latest lie has gone viral. In case you missed it, Trump has been trying to exploit the natural disaster to gain advantage politics, stating that he has learned that the federal government –Biden– and the Democratic governor of North Carolina are “doing everything they can not to help people in Republican areas.” This statement is unfounded; Major rescue and recovery operations are underway, and several governors of the affected states – including some Republicans – have praised federal efforts. Trump claimed that the Republican governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, was “having a hard time getting the president on the phone.” On the contrary, Kemp said that Biden told him “that if we needed more things, to call him directly, which I appreciate.” But of course, at this point, Trump's campaign is largely based on made-up things. And clearly, he seems to think he needs new material, because the old seems to be losing some of its effectiveness. Before we get into the issue of disaster relief, let me point out that Trump has been a true innovator on this dishonesty thing. policy. Many politicians have distorted their personal stories or the content of their political proposals; Trump does it too. But he has also constructed an entire dystopian fantasy world, trying to persuade voters that the United States is a nation with a sinking economy overrun by violent immigrants. In reality, the United States has low inflation and unemployment, and purchasing power of the average worker is greater than five years ago. It's true that some Americans struggle, but that was as true when Trump was president as it is now. At the same time, violent crime, and specifically homicides, which increased significantly during Trump's last year in office, have The news is that Trump's vision of the United States as hell seems to be losing its political charm. For example, a new Cook Political Report poll conducted in swing states, while still showing Trump with some advantage on the economy front, has Kamala Harris tied on the question of which of the two can best deal with inflation and the cost of living, and slightly behind on who can best deal with crime and violence. So it must be time to invoke a new false source of fear and outrage. Where does the insinuation that Biden is denying aid to politically hostile disaster zones? Partly it's projection: Trump was discovered to have done something similar when he was in the White House. And part of it is condemning Biden and Harris for not immediately visiting the disaster areas. However, Biden and Harris were only acting responsibly. In the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, the last thing you want is a high-level political visitor with a huge security detail. What I mean is that politicians are not much help in rescuing stranded residents and repairing roads, and facilitating their visit would divert personnel and equipment from the urgent task of saving lives and restoring essential services. Former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials expressed skepticism about Trump's visit to Valdosta, Georgia, shortly after the storm passed, not only because he used the trip to politicize a tragedy, But because such a visit “consumes resources on the ground.” But the temptation to suggest that Biden was playing politics with his response to the hurricane must have been irresistible to Trump, because it fits perfectly with the pattern of many of his other statements. The key to Trump's tall tales is to tell his followers that terrible things are happening somewhere, even if they are not happening to them or they cannot see them. He and JD Vance continue to perpetuate claims that Haitians are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio; There are not many people who have been there to see that this is not true. He also claims that immigrant “thugs” have taken over Aurora, Colorado, and hundreds of towns and cities throughout the United States, “including the big ones,” he states. “Look at New York.” Well, I look at New York – where immigrants make up around 36% of the population – all the time, and what I see coincides with official crime data: it is one of the safest big cities in the United States, a place where people, including me, walk the streets and take the subway every day. But many Americans don't experience daily life in New York and are willing to believe that it is a crime-ridden nightmare, part of a scheme in which people claim that crime is a serious national problem, just not where they live. Opinions on the economy follow the same pattern. This year, a Wall Street Journal poll found that residents of seven swing states believed the national economy was doing poorly, but that their own state's economy was generally doing well. Until recently, bad-mouthing the United States seemed be working politically for Trump. However, as I said, right now his alarmism about crime and the economy seems to be losing steam. So now he says he's heard that the feds have abandoned the hurricane victims, which may sway voters who aren't in a position to witness the enormous efforts being made, under difficult conditions, to deliver essential supplies and reestablish communications.Will it work? I have no idea. What I do know is that it is more of the same. Trump promises to rescue us from terrible threats that only exist in his head. Paul Krugman is a Nobel Prize winner in Economics. © The New York Times, 2024. Translation by News Clips.