Joe Biden Says He Will Visit North Carolina On Wednesday, Angrily Says Donald Trump Is “Lying” About White House Response — Update
UPDATE: President Joe Biden said that the recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene will be long and costly, as the White House outlined the resources being directed to the hard-hit areas devastated by the storm and torrential rains.
“It’s not going to be one hit and it’s over. This is going to take a hell of a long time. It’s going to cost a helluva a lot of money,” Biden said from the Oval Office. “This is the United States of America, and we’ve got to do it.”
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Biden was on a video conference with Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) and emergency response officials.
The president also responded to Donald Trump’s claim that the White House was ignoring Republican strongholds. Before a reporter even finished a question on the topic, Biden said, “He’s lying. Let me get this straight. He’s lying.”
Biden was right. Trump falsely claimed that Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) was having a hard time getting Biden on the phone. But hours earlier, Kemp told reporters that he had spoken to Biden on Sunday, and the president offered him any assistance that they needed.
Biden said, “I have spoken to the governor (Kemp), and spent time with him, and he told me he’s lying. I don’t know why he does this. And the reason I get so angry about it — I don’t care what he says about me, but I care what he communicates to the people that are in need. He implies that we are not doing everything possible.”
Trump visited Georgia today to assess damage from the hurricane, while his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, was briefed at FEMA headquarters this afternoon.
Biden said that water and other goods would need to be brought in to devastated areas for weeks. He said that the water system in Asheville was “completely down.”
“Getting water in here on a sustained basis is going to be critical,” Biden said. “We are discussing the strategies to continue those efforts and to surge those efforts.”
PREVIOUSLY: Joe Biden pledged U.S. aid to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which has devastated parts of the southeast, including areas in and around Asheville, NC.
In remarks from the Roosevelt Room carried across cable networks, Biden cited reports of more than 100 people dead and 600 people unaccounted for, although many have been difficult to reach because of the lack of power and cell service.
“This is an historic storm. It’s devastating. They’ve never seen anything like this before,” Biden said.
The president said that he planned to visit the region later this week, but cautioned that he did not want to cause a disruption if his security needs divert resources from recovery efforts.
His focus on the hurricane’s impact this week likely will focus media attention on the tragic scenes. Networks dispatched reporters to Florida to cover the hurricane as it made landfall last week, but the further impact of the storm appears to have caught many by surprise. Local media, like the Asheville Citizen Times, has had continuous coverage, while through the weekend, national network attention was to a series of stories, including the Israeli attacks on Hezbollah and the presidential race. Some outlets have relied on images from social media of flooded streets and collapsed buildings, and entire portions of communities wiped away.
Biden said that he may have to request that Congress come back into session for an emergency supplemental request for relief and rebuilding efforts.
“I’m here to tell every single survivor in these impacted areas that will be with you as long as it takes,” Biden said.
Kamala Harris was briefed on recovery efforts last night, and plans to attend a briefing later this afternoon.
Her presidential rival, Donald Trump, is visiting Valdosta, GA today, and said that he had planned to visit North Carolina but was advised that communication is now restricted.
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