Trump calls FEMA a ‘disaster’ during NC visit, plans to reform or eliminate agency

President Donald Trump visited Asheville, North Carolina, on Friday, where he called for the possible elimination of FEMA, criticizing the federal agency’s slow response to recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene. Trump proposed that states should take over disaster recovery operations directly, hinting at a major shift in how federal disaster aid is handled.

“I want to say that we’re very disappointed in FEMA. Your new governor, it’s not his fault, he’s brand new to the whole situation, but we’re going to work together with the governor,” Trump said. 

Meeting with state and local leaders, Trump pledged to work closely with North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and several Republican congressional members whose districts were hit hardest by the storm, including Virginia Foxx, NC-05, Chuck Edwards, NC-11, and Tim Moore, NC-14.

Recounting the 104 lost lives and more than 73,000 homes damaged, Trump expressed disappointment with FEMA’s aid for the community, accusing the agency of failing to provide timely assistance and mistreating North Carolina residents. He pointed to the allegations that FEMA employees refused to help those displaying Trump signs on their properties and reports that the agency booted 2,000 North Carolinians out of their temporary housing into below-freezing temperatures.

“What was that all about?” Trump asked. 

“We had an incompetent administration under Biden,” NC House Speaker Destin Hall replied. “We call it the disaster after the disaster, that was the FEMA response,” 

“You had nothing but disaster since then. It doesn’t matter at this point; Biden did a bad job,” Trump responded.

Trump revealed plans to sign an executive order aimed at revamping FEMA, potentially shifting how disaster recovery is handled across the US. Trump argued that states should take a more direct role in disaster recovery efforts, bypassing what he described as FEMA’s slow and bureacratic response. 

“I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA,” Trump announced. “I think, frankly, FEMA is not good. I think when you have a problem like this, whether it’s a Democrat or Republican governor, you want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling FEMA, and then FEMA gets here, and they don’t know the area, they’ve never been to the area, and they want to give you rules that you’ve never heard about.”

Trump praised local recovery efforts, singling out Michael Whatley, chair of the Republican Party, for his leadership and Franklin Graham, who has been actively involved in providing aid to affected communities through Samaritan’s Purse.

Other state leaders in attendance included Republican Party Chair Michael Whatley, North Carolina House Speaker Dustin Hall, House Majority Leader Brenden Jones, State Sens. Kevin Corbin and Warren Daniel, State Reps. Carl Gillespie and Dudley Greene.

“We’re going to make up for lost time,” Trump said, adding that he would push Congress for additional funding to support reconstruction.

Trump is also traveling to California on Friday afternoon to view the damage from the wildfires near Los Angeles.

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