Hurricane Helene has wrought havoc, killing at least 215 Americans and leaving thousands homeless. Entire communities, such as Chimney Rock, North Carolina, are in ruins. Many citizens remain stranded, powerless, and in desperate need of supplies.
When reading speeches in some of the affected states this week, President Joe Biden signaled an understanding of the disaster’s impact —
noting in Raleigh, for instance, the “historic proportions” of the damages. However, a passing encounter with the press upon his return to the White House Thursday revealed the Democratic president has at best a sporadic grasp on the reality of the situation.
“What do the states in the storm zone need, Mr. President?” a reporter
asked Biden.
“Sorry?” responded the 81-year-old president, who had just finished off celebrating former Jan. 6 committee member Liz Cheney’s supposed “physical courage” in endorsing Kamala Harris.
“What do the the states in the storm zones — what do they need after what you saw today?” said the reporter.
“Oh, in the storm zone? I’m wondering which storm you’re talking about,” said Biden. “They’ve got everything they need. They’re very happy across the board.”
Biden’s apparent confusion regarding “which storm” was at issue as well as his characterization of those affected by Hurricane Helene as “happy” prompted concerns and outrage.
‘My grief today is unfathomable.’
One user responding to the video on X noted, “This makes my blood boil! Our families are suffering. The death toll is going to be shocking. The missing need to be found!!!!”
“Oh, everyone impacted by Helene are happy, across the board. Oh. Good to know. Getting everything they need. Oh. Good to know,” wrote another user, ostensibly in disbelief over Biden’s remarks.
While Americans have showcased compassion, courage, and resilience throughout this ordeal, it’s clear that happiness is far from ubiquitous.
A user on X who goes by A.P. Hill Legacy Foundation
shared his firsthand account of challenges on the ground in North Carolina, noting that people “have no driveways, no power[,] no food. People are dying. Grown men crying and hugging me for giving them $100.”
‘Harris says Joe Biden is completely fit to be president.’
“People were crying telling me that they watched a women [sic] and her 3 children be washed away in the flood and they cried the entire night because they couldn’t help them,” said the X user. “Another man told me that his son is a paramedic and one of the bodies he found was his best friend. I hugged them and cried.”
Meghan Drye of Asheville, North Carolina, made clear to Fox Weather earlier this week that she was anything but happy, having just lost her parents and her 7-year-old son Micah to the storm.
“My grief today is unfathomable,” said Drye, emphasizing she’s been sustained since then only by prayer. “I’m sorrowful. You know, I feel broken.”
The tearful mother added while in the embrace of her weeping sister, “I’m so proud of my son because in his last moments he wasn’t screaming for me. He was screaming, ‘Jesus. Jesus save me. Jesus, I hear you. Jesus, I’m calling upon you.’ In his wildest dreams and everything that he wanted to be was a superhero, and that was his goal in life. And instead, he’s my hero because he reached for something past flesh, past human, past anything that even grown adults, I think, would reach for. My son called out to the one God Almighty. And I think at that moment, he was rescued.”
Critics seized upon Biden’s confusion as more evidence that Kamala Harris hid disqualifying decrepitude from the American public.
The Virginia GOP wrote, “Remember: Kamala Harris says Joe Biden is completely fit to be president. She is either a liar or hopelessly oblivious. Either one is disqualifying.”
The Mississippi GOP tweeted, “This is what Kamala Harris & the media covered up.”
The Trump campaign narrowed the blame down further, writing, “THIS is what Kamala covered up.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Joe biden, President biden, Decrepitude, Hurricane helene, Helene, Hurricane, North carolina, Disaster, Flood, Happy, Politics
