(Headline USA) In a bizarre and unsettling exchange even for the addled 81-year-old, President Joe Biden brushed off criticism of his administration’s response to Hurricane Helene by insisting that victims of the devastating storm were “very happy across the board,” Newsweek reported.
Biden made the comment to reporters on Thursday after visiting some of the affected towns in Florida and Georgia.
“What do the states in the storm zone—what do they need after what you saw today?” a reporter asked.
Biden at first seemed confused about what the reporter was talking about, noting he was “wondering what storm you’re talking about.”
He then claimed: “They’re getting everything they need. And they’re very happy across the board.”
Though some officials in states hit the hardest by Hurricane Helene, such as North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, have claimed the Biden administration has been responsive in the storm’s aftermath, the administration has been widely panned for being unprepared.
Critics specifically have called out Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose agency oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, blasted the Biden administration’s slow response, saying in a statement on Tuesday that he was “outraged” Biden had only designated 11 of Georgia’s counties as eligible for emergency federal aid.
“We spoke to the president’s chief of staff, the FEMA administrator and said, ‘Look, you’re sending the signal that you’re not paying attention to some of these rural communities,’” Kemp said.
Mayorkas this week admitted FEMA allegedly was running out of hurricane relief funds—after the agency spent more than $1 billion in assistance for illegal immigrants.
And Buttigieg tried to shoot down private citizens’ efforts to provide relief to hurricane victims.
“Drone pilots: Do not fly your drone near or around rescue and recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene,” the Transportation Department said on social media. “Interfering with emergency response operations impacts search and rescue operations on the ground.”
