Michael Whatley Military Healthcare North Carolina

At Michael Whatley's Rally, Trump Told Camp Lejeune Families They'd Get Paid Only If Republicans Win: 'If We Don't Win, There's No Money.'

Campaigning for Michael Whatley in Greenville, Donald Trump said he'd settle the remaining claims from veterans and families poisoned by Camp Lejeune's water, but only if Republicans keep Congress. A woman who lost four relatives called it 'sickening.'

MAGA Report Cards · Oct 22, 2026

At Michael Whatley's Rally, Trump Told Camp Lejeune Families They'd Get Paid Only If Republicans Win: 'If We Don't Win, There's No Money.' — Photo: U.S. Marine Corps, via NC Newsline

On Tuesday, Donald Trump flew to Greenville, North Carolina, for a rally to help Michael Whatley, the Republican running for U.S. Senate there. Whatley spoke at the rally, and a Getty photo shows him shaking Trump's hand afterward.

During his speech, Trump made a promise to the veterans and families who were poisoned by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, the Marine base in eastern North Carolina. He said he'd pay them. Then he added a condition.

"I am directing the Department of Justice to settle all remaining legitimate claims as soon as possible and get it off the books and get it finished," Trump said, according to NC Newsline. "If we don't win, there's no money. If we do win, you're getting it."

Who these families are

From 1953 to 1987, people who lived and worked at Camp Lejeune were exposed to contaminated drinking water. A federal study found high rates of eight cancers among former troops, their families and workers there.

In 2022, Congress passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which set up a way for people who got sick to seek compensation. Payments have been slow. The Justice Department reported last month that it has paid out more than $879 million, which NC Newsline notes is only a small part of the money set aside for survivors. Families have fought the government for years over how slowly claims are paid.

Jill Steen Dilgard is one of them. Her father, an uncle and two cousins all served at Camp Lejeune, and all four died. She filed a claim in August 2022. She is still waiting.

When she heard Trump's remarks, she told NC Newsline she was "furious and sickened." "How can you play political games with people's lives?" she said.

A pattern

This isn't the first time. NC Newsline reports that at a recent event in Gastonia, North Carolina, Trump also tied the remaining Hurricane Helene aid to a Republican win. He later said he was joking.

At the same Greenville rally, Trump repeated his promise of a $5,000 check for every adult if Republicans win. "If we lose, you get nothing," he said.

Helene has its own history with Whatley. Trump named him the Helene recovery czar, and records requests to FEMA and 12 counties found no sign he ever contacted them.

"Why didn't he do the right thing from the get-go?"

Dilgard also said Trump could have done more to resolve the claims in his first term. "If he has all the authority he says he does to make this happen, why didn't he do the right thing from the get-go?" she asked.

U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat, has cosponsored a bipartisan bill to speed up payments by capping lawyers' fees and moving claims to trial faster. It hasn't moved. "If he had that power, why is he making sick and grieving families wait today?" she said.

North Carolina's governor, Josh Stein, put it this way: "To condition doing the right thing by sick North Carolinians on who wins the election is foul."

The facts, in short

At a rally for Michael Whatley, Donald Trump told veterans and families sickened by Camp Lejeune's contaminated water that the government would settle their remaining claims only if Republicans keep Congress. "If we don't win, there's no money," he said. The 2022 law that set up those claims is already in force, and families like Jill Steen Dilgard's, who lost four relatives, have been waiting on payment for years.