Republican Senator and vice presidential candidate JD Vance told a crowd Friday that the federal government showed “bureaucratic incompetence” when Helene devastated Western North Carolina last month.
Vance spoke at a campaign-organized town hall in Monroe and answered questions from supporters.
The Helene flood devastated much of western North Carolina. This week, the General Assembly approved another $604 million for disaster relief. Gov. Roy Cooper signed executive orders providing more relief.
“What happened with the federal response was sheer bureaucratic incompetence,” Vance told the crowd at the Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport.
He compared Helene to an earthquake in Haiti in 2010, in which the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division reached Port-au-Prince two days later.
“The 82nd Airborne was an hour away from Western North Carolina and didn’t get there for a week,” he said. “That’s a shame, and it’s a shame on the military leadership – especially when it comes to Kamala Harris, because we know the members of the 82nd Airborne would have loved to leave the day after the hurricane. Why didn’t Kamala Harris and Joe Biden direct them to do so?”
President Joe Biden announced on October 2, five days after Helene reached the mountains, that he would “immediately” deploy 1,000 troops from Fort Mill to the area. They joined members of the North Carolina Guard who were activated before the storm hit.
Trump’s claims
Vance’s running mate, former President Donald Trump, has been criticized for spreading misinformation about Helene and the response in North Carolina.
“I’ll be there soon, but I don’t like the reports I’m getting about the federal government and the state’s Democratic governor going out of their way not to help people in Republican areas. MAGA!” the former president posted on social media about North Carolina.
When Trump was later asked for a source for the claim, he declined to provide one, but told a reporter to “take a look at it.”
Trump also falsely claimed that Cooper blocked “people and money” from entering North Carolina, and that FEMA diverted disaster relief funds to people living in the country without legal permission.
Other problems
Vance was joined by Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump. He answered questions from supporters and discussed other topics.
At the southern border: “We’re going to have better education, better health care, lower housing costs and we’re going to tackle this fentanyl crisis because Donald J. Trump is going to close the border. And we’re going to start from day one.”
About energy and lowering prices: “It’s the simplest but actually the most important policy proposal to lower prices, and that’s boron, baby, boron. Some people don’t realize that as energy increases, everything becomes more expensive. Think about it. If the truck driver who delivers food to the supermarket pays 45% more for diesel, then we all pay more for groceries.”
About social security: “When Kamala Harris says we’re going after Social Security, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Donald Trump was president for four years. He already protected Social Security, and now he’s going to do it again.”
While Vance was campaigning in Monroe, former President Barack Obama was campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris in Charlotte.
Election day is November 5.
