Promising to bring congressional fiscal help and hammering away at FEMA, second-term Republican President Donald Trump’s first domestic trip led off Friday talking to residents in western North Carolina.
Recovery from Hurricane Helene, entering its 18th week, has been a slow slog. The storm killed 104 in the state, 233 total in seven, and caused an estimated $53 billion in damage according to a funding request from the last gubernatorial administration.
“It’s a massive amount of damage,” Trump said in a meeting with government leaders at Asheville Regional Airport immediately upon landing. “FEMA has really let us down, let the country down. And I don’t know if that’s Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’re going to take over, and we’re going to do a good job.”
Included is the president’s suggestion of eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency that is within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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