President Biden announced Monday that he would visit North Carolina on Wednesday after Hurricane Helene devastated the state.
The President’s announcement comes after critics slammed him for his lack of leadership following the devastating impact of the deadly storm on the south-eastern part of the country.
More than 120 people have been murdered by Helen so far storm It made landfall in Florida late Thursday before tearing a path of destruction across the interior Southeast.
The storm caused millions of power outages and billions in property damage as it hit the southern Appalachian Mountains and the Tennessee Valley.
Asheville residents grapple with ‘apocalypse’ from Hurricane Helen after deadly flooding, mudslides
While several days have passed since the storm struck the region, Biden has not yet visited the region and does not plan to.
“On Wednesday, I will travel to North Carolina for a briefing at the State Emergency Operations Center and to participate in an aerial tour of Asheville,” Biden said in a post on Instagram. “I have ensured that my journey will not be disrupted.” Ongoing response. “I plan to visit Georgia and Florida as soon as I can.”
But the president’s announcement drew strong criticism from the public, with one person writing, “Joe Biden’s trip is too little, too late.”
Another person wrote, referring to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, “Don’t come to Florida, we are being hit on the ground. The governor is covering it up.”
Still, many people wrote that Biden was visiting only because former President Trump had already visited areas damaged by Helen.
Biden gets defensive when pressed on who is ‘commanding’ Hurricane Helen response
President Biden speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on September 29, 2024. (Reuters/Anna Rose Leyden)
Trump stopped in Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday, where he was briefed on the devastation caused by the storm, but also assisted with relief distribution and gave remarks.
“I have come to Valdosta with large semitrucks, many of them filled with relief aid. A tanker truck is filled with gasoline, some large tanker trucks are filled with gasoline that they can no longer get. And we will Keep working all day long to deliver it,” Trump said.
Fox News Digital has contacted the White House for more information about the president’s visit to North Carolina this week.
Harris-Trump clash: Hurricane Helene amid campaign storm
A van is swept away in flood waters near Biltmore Village after Hurricane Helene in Asheville, N.C., on September 28, 2024. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
During a press conference on Monday about the federal response to Hurricane Helene, Biden vowed to visit some of the most devastated areas.
At the end of the press conference, he became defensive when a reporter pressed him about who was in command over the weekend to direct the hurricane response as he spent the weekend at his Delaware beach home.
As the President left the Roosevelt Room, the reporter shouted, “Mr. President, why weren’t you and Vice President Harris leading the way in Washington this weekend?”
Heavy rain from Hurricane Helene causes record flooding and damage in Asheville, NC (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
In response, Biden said he was in command, adding that he was on the phone for “at least two hours” on Sunday and the day before.
North Carolina and Georgia were among the hardest-hit states. They are two of the seven major battlefields where decisions are taken by razor-thin margins Biden’s A victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election is expected to determine the outcome of the 2024 showdown between Harris, the Democrat nominee, and Trump.
At the beginning of his remarks during a press briefing earlier in the day, Biden assured that he and his team were “in constant contact with governors, mayors and local leaders” regarding Hurricane Helene.
The President noticed that Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Dean Criswell was on the ground in North Carolina and will be in the Asheville area.
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Biden also said he directed the Federal Communications Commission to help establish communications capacity and to make all resources available to the National Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Defense to respond to rescue efforts and assist in removing debris and delivering life-saving supplies. . ,
So far, more than 3,600 personnel have been approved. Biden has also approved the request of the governors of Florida, North Carolina, South CarolinaTennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama to declare emergencies.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
