There will be no more federal aid for the victims of Hurricane Helene, Joe Biden has said.
Standing on the tarmac as he prepared to board Air Force One, the President spoke to reporters and said the federal government has done everything it can to help.
After giving a largely incoherent response when asked if he had anything to say to the victims, Biden was asked if the federal government could provide further resources.
“No,” he said.
“We’ve pre-planned a significant amount of it even though they didn’t ask for it yet.”
"Do you have any words to the victims of the hurricane?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 30, 2024
BIDEN: "We've given everything that we have."
"Are there any more resources the federal government could be giving them?"
BIDEN: "No." pic.twitter.com/jDMNGhpjOz
Users took to social media to express their fury at the President’s response.
“231 Billion Dollars went to Ukraine and the Illegal Aliens. You get Zero if you’re an American and need financial assistance if you’re in the middle of a natural disaster,” Tweeted one user.
“Just like Maui and East Palestine OH. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris could care less about Americans,” Tweeted another.
The scale of the devastation across the southeastern US is enormous. As of Sunday afternoon, 2.4 million people were without power. Nearly 100 people have been reported dead and thousands have been displaced or rescued from the floodwaters, across five states—Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
The Category 4 hurricane made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on Thursday night, with winds reaching over 140 mph. Florida governor Ron DeSantis spoke of “complete obliteration” in the parts of his state the hurricane passed through. It’s reported that 90% of communities like Keaton Beach, which was still struggling to recover from last year’s Hurricane Idalia, have been washed away by flooding.
The Carolinas have borne the brunt of the hurricane’s fury. In North Carolina, Yancey County saw 29.5 inches of rainfall. In Buncombe County, more than 1,000 people still remain unaccounted for. 24 people have already been confirmed dead in South Carolina, the highest total of any state so far.
Accuweather is estimating the damage caused by the hurricane to be upwards of $110 billion, making it one of the most expensive in US history. For comparison, Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Harvey (2017) each caused around $125 billion of damages.
On Sunday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s request for a Federal Major Disaster Declaration was granted by the President, allowing FEMA to provide aid to the state.
400 Children a Day Trafficked Across US Southern Border
