This photo doesn’t show Joe Biden lounging at the beach as Hurricane Helene hit southeastern US

As Americans in devastated communities across the Southeast grappled with deaths and catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene, some people online claimed that the U.S. president was lounging on the beach.

"How would the media have reacted if President Trump had been sitting on the beach while towns all over America were being wiped out by a hurricane?" a Sept. 30 X post said. It included  a photo of President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden sitting on a beach.

But the image featured in the post was taken Aug. 31 on Delaware’s Rehoboth Beach — almost a month before Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend.

The Bidens did travel to Delaware over the weekend following Hurricane Helene’s landfall, and they visited the same Rehoboth Beach area, where they own a home. They departed Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, according to the White House, before traveling back to the capital Sept. 29.

But since Helene blew ashore, Biden has approved major disaster declarations for Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, which allows people in affected areas to immediately access funds and resources.

His administration also approved emergency declarations for Florida, North Carolina Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama. Under an emergency declaration, FEMA provides federal support to states on emergency protective measures such as evacuation, shelter and search and rescue.

Around "3,300 personnel from across the federal workforce" have been deployed to support the response efforts across the impacted states," the White House said in a Sept. 29 release. 

The White House reported that Biden received several briefs from FEMA throughout the Sept. 27 to Sept. 29 weekend on the storm’s ongoing impacts and updates on the emergency response. In the briefings, Biden directed FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to determine what more can be done to speed up support to people struggling to access assistance in isolated communities, according to a Sept. 29 White House press pool report. 

Biden also spoke with several state and local leaders across the states, the White House pool reported, including governors in Georgia and North Carolina; Valdosta, Georgia, Mayor Scott Matheson and Taylor County, Florida, Emergency Management Director John Louk. 

Biden told Criswell that he plans to travel to affected communities when it doesn’t disrupt emergency response operations.

Featured Fact-check

Eric Hovde

stated on October 3, 2024 in X, formerly Twitter

"FEMA is out of money and doesn't have money to transfer to those people affected by the hurricane ... they used the money to assist illegal immigrants."

X posts claim that a photo shows the Bidens lounging on the beach while "while towns all over America were being wiped out"by Hurricane Helene.

The image shows the Bidens on a Delaware beach at the end of August, not during or shortly after Helene made landfall in Florida in late September.

The Bidens did visit Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, over the weekend of Sept. 27 to Sept. 29, after the hurricane made landfall, but he also issued emergency declarations and spoke to state and local leaders in affected states. He told officials he plans to visit affected communities when it doesn’t disrupt emergency response operations.

We rate this post False.