Vice President Kamala Harris visited North Carolina Saturday to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, one day after former President Donald Trump held an event in the swing state.
Ms. Harris met with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Rep. Alma Adams, North Carolina Democrat, for a briefing with local officials on disaster recovery efforts.
During the briefing, Ms. Harris announced that the White House had officially added Mecklenburg County to the disaster declaration, which opens up access to federal resources for residents and businesses.
“I think that these moments of crisis bring out some of the best of who we can be and who we are,” she said. “I’ve been seeing and hearing the stories from here in North Carolina about strangers who are helping each other out, giving people assistance in every way that they need, including shelter, food and friendship and fellowship.”
“And so I thank everyone for all the work that they’ve been doing, those who are in the room and those who are out there right now, working around the clock,” Ms. Harris continued.
Ms. Harris’ trip on Saturday is her second visit to the expansive disaster zone left by Hurricane Helene this week, and comes on the heels of an event held by Mr. Trump in Fayetteville, where he called the Biden administration’s response to the disaster “lousy.”
She stopped in Georgia earlier this week where she pledged “long-lasting” federal aid for residents affected by the devastating storm.
Helene’s sweeping destruction has become a major issue for both campaigns with just one month left until the Nov. 5 election. Both Georgia and North Carolina are swing states where Mr. Trump holds a thin lead over Ms. Harris.
Throughout the week he has lobbed criticism at the Biden administration’s handling of the disaster response to Helene.
“There’s nobody who has handled a hurricane or a storm worse than what they are doing right now,” he said earlier this week in Michigan.
Mr. Trump has also alleged that the Federal Emergency Management Agency doesn’t have the money to help rebuild because it spent more than $1.4 billion to house illegal immigrants.
FEMA has insisted these claims are false saying that the money to house migrants comes from a separate program funded by Congress and is not associated with the disaster-relief program.
Mr. Trump’s accusation also spurred other conspiracies surrounding the storm, including a post from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, on X where she wrote “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”
The conspiracies and misinformation that followed in the wake of the devastating storm prompted FEMA to set up a rumor response page on its website and has mobilized officials on both sides of the aisle to call on people to stymie the rumors.
“If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch in to help, that would be great,” Knox County, Tennessee Mayor Glenn Jacobs wrote on X.
Ms. Harris’ trip to North Carolina follows a plea from President Biden for Congress to pass emergency spending legislation to refill the Small Business Administration’s fast-depleting disaster loan program, which he called a “critical lifeline” that acts as the “largest source of Federal disaster recovery fund.”
While the recently passed stopgap measure to prevent a partial government shutdown included $20 billion for FEMA, it did not top off the SBA’s loan program. Mr. Biden warned that the program would run out of money before the election, and Congress does not return until Nov. 12.
He urged congressional leaders to consider passing additional funding for FEMA, too, when they return.
“Federal assistance for these issues is, I know, extremely important,” Ms. Harris said. “Because a lot of folks don’t save for these kinds of emergencies, and when they hit it takes a real drain on their resources and ability to take care of themselves and their family.”
- Jeff Mordock contributed to this report.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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