A major hurricane set to strike the East Coast this week appears to have divided the US media, with the Washington Post calling President Donald Trump “complicit” in the storm and right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh calling it an attempt to “politicise” climate change.

Hurricane Florence is forecast to hit the coast of North and South Carolina later this week as a category 3 storm, which experts have warned could be one of the most destructive in decades. Mr Trump, along with countless state officials, issued numerous warnings on Tuesday and Wednesday, urging residents of affected areas to leave before the storm hit.

The Washington Post gave Mr Trump credit for the “good advice” in an editorial published on Tuesday, but said went on to say that the president was “complicit” in the “extreme weather” ravaging the country.

“He plays down humans’ role in increasing the risks, and he continues to dismantle efforts to address those risks,” the paper’s editorial board wrote. “It is hard to attribute any single weather event to climate change. But there is no reasonable doubt that humans are priming the Earth’s systems to produce disasters.”

The editorial board pointed to Mr Trump’s plan to roll back federal rules on methane as evidence of his disregard for climate change. They also cited several studies showing how a warming planet has contributed to an increase in catastrophic weather events.

“The president has cemented the GOP’s legacy as one of reaction and reality denial,” the board wrote. “Sadly, few in his party appear to care.”

Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Show all 20 1 /20 Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Barmen protect their business from the storm and the opportunists Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Many supplies have run out as Hurricane Florence approaches in Nichols, South Carolina AP Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Hurricane Florence seen from space on September 12 AP Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Students of East Carolina University's Coastal Storms class use anemometers to measure wind speeds at Union Point Park in New Bern, North Carolina AP Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Rescue workers are on the scene in James City, North Carolina Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Sixteen hours before Florence even hits land, the Neuse River bursts its banks and floods New Bern, North Carolina Alamy Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Volunteer rescue workers help three children out of their flooded home in James City, North Carolina Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast A boardwalk is damaged in Atlantic Beach on North Carolina's coast Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Union Point Park in New Bern is closed Reuters Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast A child sits in Conway High School, which is being used as an evacuation centre in South Carolina AFP/Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Locals voice their disapproval of the storm in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Volunteer rescue workers help children from their flooded home in James City Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast A man floats down his street in a metal tub after the Neuse River burst its banks in New Bern, North Carolina Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Electric lines are affected in Wilmington, North Carolina Alamy Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Floods in New Bern, North Carolina as Florence approaches Alamy Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Waves crash over a pier on Atlantic Beach in North Carolina as Hurricane Florence approaches AP Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Hurricane Florence is seen from the International Space Station as it churns in the Atlantic Ocean towards the east coast of the US NASA/Reuters Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast This NOAA/RAMMB satellite image taken on September 10, 2018, shows Hurricane Florence off the US' east coast in the Atantic Ocean AFP/Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast In this NOAA satellite handout image, Hurricane Florence is shown travelling west and gaining strength in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of Bermuda on September 10, 2018 Getty Hurricane Florence hits the US East Coast Firefighters rescue people by boat in New Bern, North Carolina Getty

The editorial prompted a response from Fox News – the president’s preferred news source – which cited a conservative strategist as saying that the mainstream media “finds new ways to embarrass themselves and further erode Americans confidence in them” on a daily basis.

That same day, Mr Limbaugh took to the airwaves to declare that the forecasts had been overblown in an attempt to “politicize” climate change.

“For those of you asking, 'What’s the politics of a hurricane?' Climate change is the politics of hurricanes,” he said. “The forecast and the destruction potential doom and gloom is all to heighten the belief in climate change."

But even Republican officials were warning of the dangers of Hurricane Florence as the storm drew nearer, with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster likening it to a “very deadly and important game of chess”.