President Donald Trump visited storm-ravaged North Carolina Friday in the first stop of a multi-leg disaster tour before heading out to fire-ravaged Southern California.
The president and first lady touched down in Asheville, N.C., Friday morning to tour hurricane damage and discuss his disaster relief plan for the FEMA-neglected red state.
After stepping off Air Force One at Asheville Airport, Trump told reporters that FEMA “let the country down” after Hurricane Helene devastated the area in September 2024.
“It’s terrible. A lot of things didn’t happen that should’ve happened,” the president declared.
“We’re going to fix it, and we’re going to fix it as fast as you can,” Trump said. “It’s a massive amount of damage. FEMA has really let us down. Let the country down. And I don’t know if that’s Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’re going to take over. We’re going to do a good job.”
Trump told reporters the federal government will supply “a lot of the money” to repair the massive amount of flood damage that remains to be cleared months later.
“We’re gonna supply the money—maybe 25 percent,” the president said. “We want to take care of the people of North Carolina.”
Trump vowed to overhaul FEMA so that states can respond to their own disasters rather than rely on the federal government.
“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 told reporters. “I think, frankly, FEMA is not good.”
Trump also promised his administration would step in and assist North Carolina to fix the damage quickly, vowing to “do a good job” for the state.
The president is also traveling to Los Angeles, California to tour wildfire damage on Friday, before heading to Las Vegas for a scheduled event for supporters on Saturday.
Trump said he didn’t invite Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to join him on the trip to examine the areas of Los Angeles destroyed by wildfires.
“I was told Schiff was going to travel with us to California,” he told reporters. “I wasn’t thrilled, to be honest with you.”
Trump added: “I saw him last night on television. It looks like he got hit with a baseball bat or something. What happened to him?”
On Tuesday, Schiff posted on X a video of himself lambasting Trump’s executive orders. To explain the Band-Aid on his forehead, he said: “Banged my head. Really dumb. Anyway. Clumsy.”
Ultimately, Trump said he believed Schiff decided to stay behind in D.C. for some important Senate votes.
Trump’s schedule for the day (EST):
– 9:00 AM: The President departs The White House en route Joint Base Andrews, South Lawn Open Press
– 9:15 AM: The President depart Joint Base Andrews en route Asheville Regional Airport Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool
– 11:00 AM: The President receives a Hurricane Helene recovery briefing Asheville Regional Airport, Fletcher, NC Out-of-Town Pool
– 12:05 PM: The President meets with families affected by Hurricane Helene Swannanoa, NC Out-of-Town Pool
– 1:05 PM The President depart Asheville Regional Airport en route Los Angeles International Airport Asheville Regional Airport, Fletcher, NC Out-of-Town Pool
– 5:40 PM The President departs Los Angeles International Airport en route Landing Zone [2:40 PM Local] Los Angeles International AIrport Out-of-Town Pool
– 6:25 PM The President tours the Pacific Palisades neighborhood affected by the fire [3:25 PM Local] Pacific Palisades, CA Out-of-Town Pool
– 7:05 PM The President receives a briefing on the Los Angeles fires [4:05 PM Local] Pacific Palisades, CA Out-of-Town Pool
– 8:20 PM The President departs Pacific Palisades en route to Los Angeles International Airport [5:20 PM Local] Pacific Palisades, CA Out-of-Town Pool
– 8:50 PM: The President departs Los Angeles International Airport en route to Harry Reid International Airport [5:50 PM Local] Los Angeles International Airport Out-of-Town Pool
– 10:00 PM The President spends the evening at Trump International Hotel Las Vegas [7:00 PM Local] Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas Out-of-Town Pool