President Biden introduced on Monday that he’ll go to North Carolina on Wednesday after Hurricane Helene ravaged the state.Â
The president’s announcement comes after critics slammed him for an absence of management after the monster storm’s devastating impression on the southeastern portion of the nation.Â
Greater than 120 individuals have been killed by Helene since the hurricane made landfall in Florida late Thursday earlier than tearing a path of destruction by way of the inside Southeast.
The storm induced tens of millions of energy outages and billions in property harm because it smashed by way of the southern Appalachian Mountains and into the Tennessee Valley.Â
ASHEVILLE RESIDENTS BATTLING ‘APOCALYPTIC’ AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE HELENE AFTER DEADLY FLOODING, LANDSLIDES
Whereas days have handed for the reason that storm struck the area, Biden has not visited the realm nor had plans to till now.
“On Wednesday, I will journey to North Carolina for a briefing on the State Emergency Operations Heart and to take part in an aerial tour of Asheville,” Biden mentioned in a publish on X. “I’ve ensured my journey is not going to disrupt the continued response. I plan to journey to Georgia and Florida as quickly as attainable.”
However the president’s announcement was adopted by harsh criticism from the general public, with one individual writing, “Joe Biden’s go to is just too little, too late.”
One other individual wrote, “Don’t come to Florida we received hit floor zero. The governor is overlaying it,” referring to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Nonetheless, a number of individuals wrote that Biden is just visiting as a result of former President Trump had already gone to areas broken by Helene.
BIDEN GETS DEFENSIVE WHEN PUSHED ON WHO’S ‘COMMANDING’ HURRICANE HELENE RESPONSE
President Biden speaks to the media earlier than boarding Air Drive One at Dover Air Drive Base in Delaware on Sept. 29, 2024. (REUTERS/Anna Rose Layden )
Trump stopped in Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday the place he was briefed on the devastation left by the storm, however he additionally assisted with reduction distribution and delivered remarks.
“I’ve come to Valdosta with giant semitrucks, a lot of them stuffed with reduction assist. A tanker truck stuffed up with gasoline, a few huge tanker vehicles stuffed up with gasoline, which they cannot get now. And we’ll be working to distribute it all through the day,” Trump mentioned.
Fox Information Digital has reached out to the White Home for extra details about the president’s go to to North Carolina this week.
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A van drifts in floodwaters close to Biltmore Village within the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Photos)
Throughout a press convention concerning the federal response to Hurricane Helene on Monday, Biden vowed to go to a number of the most devastated areas.
On the finish of the press convention, he received defensive when a reporter pressed him about who was in command over the weekend to direct hurricane response as he spent the weekend at his Delaware seaside dwelling.
The reporter yelled because the president walked out of the Roosevelt Room, “Mr. President, why weren’t you and Vice President Harris right here in Washington commanding this this weekend?”
BIDEN ADMIN’S FEMA ‘EQUITY’ PLAN FACES BACKLASH AMID HISTORIC HURRICANE DAMAGE: ‘WHAT AN EMBARRASSMENT’
Heavy rains from Hurricane Helene induced report flooding and harm in Asheville, N.C. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Photos)
In response, Biden mentioned he was commanding it, explaining he was on the cellphone for “no less than two hours” on Sunday and the day earlier than.
North Carolina and Georgia have been among the many hardest-hit states. They’re additionally two of the seven key battleground states the place razor-thin margins determined Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump and are anticipated to find out the end result of the 2024 showdown between Harris, the Democrat nominee, and Trump.
At the beginning of his remarks through the press briefing earlier within the day, Biden assured that he and his workforce have been “in fixed contact with governors, mayors and native leaders” relating to Hurricane Helene.Â
The president famous that Federal Emergency Administration Company Administrator Deanne Criswell was on the bottom in North Carolina and would stay within the Asheville space.
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Biden additionally mentioned he directed the Federal Communications Fee to assist set up communications functionality and the Nationwide Guard, the Military Corps of Engineers and the Division of Protection “to supply all of the sources at its disposal to rescue and help in clearing particles and delivering lifesaving provides.”Â
To this point, greater than 3,600 personnel have been accredited. Biden has additionally accredited requests from the governors of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama for an emergency declaration.
Fox Information Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
