Trump suggests eliminating FEMA during hurricane damage visit

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President Trump landed in North Carolina today to assess the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, while also expressing strong criticism of FEMA’s disaster response efforts.

During his visit near Asheville to survey hurricane damage, Trump suggested he might eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, citing its slow and ineffective response to the recent disaster. This criticism echoed points he raised against former President Biden’s administration during the 2024 campaign.

Trump is now considering abolishing FEMA and forcing states to deal with natural disasters on their own.

“I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” pic.twitter.com/fgTEQxQbVI

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— Miss Kamala Yet? (@MissKamalaYet) January 24, 2025

“It’s very bureaucratic. And it’s very slow.”

The President expressed his disappointment with FEMA’s performance while speaking to reporters after landing. “FEMA just hasn’t done the job. We’re looking at the whole concept of FEMA,” he stated.

“It’s very bureaucratic. And it’s very slow. Other than that, we’re very happy with them,” Trump continued. “Let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen.”

The presidential itinerary includes a briefing on recovery progress in Fletcher and meetings with impacted families in Swannanoa.

Local disaster relief workers have witnessed widespread suffering in the aftermath of the hurricane. Ian Monley from Valley Strong Disaster Relief described dire living conditions: “We’ve seen people living in condemned trailers where they have raw sewage under their trailers. We’ve seen people living in tents. We’ve seen people living in cars. Normally, you see FEMA trailers rolling in and things to get people housing. And we haven’t seen any of that.”

Ground observer Matt Van Swol has documented the extensive damage and inadequate response, expressing support for Trump’s proposed FEMA restructuring.

This is what WINNING looks like 🏆.

President Trump wants to ABOLISH FEMA for being USELESS.

“FEMA has turned out to be a disaster. I think we're going to recommend that FEMA go away and we pay a percentage to the State…”pic.twitter.com/Be94TfAHg5

— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) January 24, 2025

North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Josh Stein welcomed the presidential visit, stating, “I think that’s very good news for the people of Western North Carolina that this issue is front of mind of the new administration.”

En route to North Carolina, Trump pledged to address the situation, telling reporters, “We’re going to get it fixed up. It should have been done months ago.”

The devastating impact of Hurricane Helene includes over 100 American casualties and damage to more than 73,000 homes across North Carolina and surrounding areas. Damage estimates have reached $59.6 billion.

Following his North Carolina visit, Trump will head to southern California to assess wildfire damage in the region.