Trump says FEMA has 'really let us down' in North Carolina

President Trump said Friday the disaster relief led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina has been disappointing, emphasizing that he would prefer states handle their own relief efforts.

“FEMA has really let us down, let the country down. And I don’t know if that’s Biden’s fault or who’s fault it is. But we’re going to take over, and we’re going to do a good job,” the president said when he landed in Asheville for a visit after the devastating hurricane hit the region in September.

The president reiterated his criticism of FEMA from his Fox News interview Wednesday, during which he suggested the agency actually gets in the way of clean up.

“FEMA just hasn’t done the job. And we’re looking at the same concept of FEMA. I like, frankly, the concept when North Carolina gets hit, the governor takes care of it. When Florida gets hit, the governor takes care of it. Being the state takes care of it,” Trump said Friday. “To have a group of people come in from an area they don’t even know where they’re going in order to solve immediately a problem is something that never worked for me.”

“I’d like to see the states take care of disasters,” he added, suggesting that would be less expensive and a quicker response.

He added that he will “assign” Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley to help with relief, adding, “We’re going to supply the money, supply a lot of the money, maybe have to chip in something — like maybe 25 percent or whatever.”

“We want to take care of the people of North Carolina … everybody’s talking about California and that’s a mess, but I said, I’m not going to California before I stop in North Carolina,” Trump said.

He also said he’s “disappointed” in former President Biden's handling of the cleanup after the hurricane and that he is aiming to “make up for lost time.”

When Trump landed in Asheville, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) were on the tarmac to greet him, as well as Whatley.

The president is set to travel to California to assess the wildfire relief after his trip to the Tar Heel State.

Trump won the state of North Carolina after Biden — and then former Vice President Kamala Harris when she took over the Democratic ticket — sought to flip the state the Trump also won in 2016 and 2020.

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