The federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene has been the subject of intense disagreement and debate, with residents in the impacted areas of western North Carolina saying one thing and FEMA administrators and Democrat elected officials saying something else.
It started on the wrong foot the weekend Helene hit the state. Then-President Joe Biden was on vacation relaxing at his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home while then-Vice President Kamala Harris was conducting presidential campaign fundraising at posh events in her home state of California.
The optics alone for the Biden-Harris administration were awful considering, at the time, there was an unknown number of deaths, and the devastation was, as some weather forecasters predicted, widespread, with the topography dramatically changed and parts of western North Carolina completely unrecognizable.
Three days after the storm hit, Biden was holding a press conference on the federal response to the hurricane when a reporter point-blank asked him, “Why weren’t you and Vice President Harris here in Washington commanding this this weekend?”
A testy Biden did not like the question and responded by telling the reporter, “I was commanding it. I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I command it. It’s called a telephone and all my security people.”
Biden did visit later that week, but by that point, the damage was done, with accusations flying in the months after that FEMA was actually hindering rescue and recovery efforts and was making promises about temporary housing that they allegedly weren’t keeping.
Meanwhile, North Carolinians were stepping up, and nonprofits and independent organizations were filling the void as well, including Samaritan’s Purse, the Cajun Navy and a group of Amish carpenters from Pennsylvania.
Things hit a fever pitch in early January as a winter weather event was expected to impact both North and South Carolina, with local reports indicating that around 3.500 displaced families were going to be kicked out of hotels right as the storm hit because their vouchers were expiring.
After Republican leaders and Gov. Josh Stein (D) intervened, FEMA announced extensions on the vouchers so the people would have a place to stay.
During his inauguration address Jan. 20, President Donald Trump mentioned North Carolina, noting, “Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina, who have been treated so badly.”
Four days later, he visited the state, the first trip he’d taken since being sworn in. He was swarmed upon arrival, with members of the community clearly eager to embrace and endorse new leadership and fresh commitments to be there every step of the way from the incoming administration.
While here, Trump indicated he was going to be cutting a lot of red tape that had hindered progress with a slew of executive orders that specifically addressed the needs of western North Carolina.
He also pledged that federal funding would now be coming from an entity other than FEMA, the details of which have yet to be announced.
Another big priority Trump put on the to-do list was the possibility of FEMA reform or even “getting rid” of it, suggesting that disaster response was best handled at the state level, saying states more so than the feds were in a better position to know the needs of their people.
It remains to be seen how his plan to address the gross inadequacies of the federal response will take shape. But one thing is certain: People have a renewed sense of hope and optimism now that things will get done.
Now the only thing left to do is for Trump to formally set conditions that will enable progress to happen.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
