“Roy Cooper was in New York speaking at a New York Times ‘Climate Forward’ event when Hurricane Helene slammed into North Carolina.”

The claim, circulated by the 'Team Trump' X account and other political entities, asserts that Roy Cooper was in New York at a 'Climate Forward' event when Hurricane Helene struck North Carolina. Fact-checking investigations by PolitiFact and WRAL have established a clear timeline that contradicts this assertion. Roy Cooper traveled to New York on September 25, 2024, to attend a climate conference, returning to North Carolina by the afternoon of that same day. Hurricane Helene did not make landfall in North Carolina until September 27, 2024. On the day the storm hit, Cooper was in Raleigh, North Carolina, and had already declared a state of emergency and requested federal assistance prior to the storm's arrival. The claim conflates a trip taken two days before the storm's impact with the timing of the disaster itself.