(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump may have had to contend with a none-too-delighted Secret Service on Monday after a visit to western North Carolina that, logistically speaking, seemed not to live up to the newly enhanced security standards.
Despite the presence of snipers on a nearby roof and what appeared to be helicopter air support, Trump’s noontime remarks to media in Swannanoa, N.C., lacked the same rigorous screenings, secured perimeter and bulletproof glass that have become normal protocol in recent weeks.
The piles of debris dotting the landscape undoubtedly made the security sweep a bigger headache than usual, even as the embattled agency has struggled to secure Trump’s own West Palm Beach golf course from dangerous assassins.
Moreover, while the event may have been intended as a low-key affair for invited media and guests, some local residents caught wind of it and had gathered to greet the GOP nominee at a gravel parking lot across the road—adjacent to the Swannanoa River, where the economic recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene have only just begun, as the presence of an abandoned car in a field indicated.
Yet, for the hurricane victims—who have endured three weeks of extreme hardship since the late-September deluge, which led to massive flooding, caught many residents off-guard—Trump’s visit was a silver lining in an otherwise bleak situation, evoking memories of his surprise Christmas and Thanksgiving Day appearances in war-torn conflict zones like Iraq while serving as commander-in-chief.
“Mr. President, I can’t thank you enough for coming out,” said Brian Burpeau, whose automotive business, Diamondback 4×4, played host to the event.
“I had in the back of my mind, I just—I even made a comment to somebody, ‘If Trump would just show up. Trump would just show up. We need him. We need that shot of hope in the arm. We need that—we need to know we’re going to be OK and not forgotten,” Burpeau said.
Those sentiments were echoed by Adam Smith, a retired Green Beret and de-facto leader of what has been dubbed the “Redneck Air Force”—a group of volunteer pilots who have flown rescue and relief missions throughout the flood zone.
Earlier this month, Smith made an appearance in Greensboro at a townhall event with vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, where he urged GOP officials to keep western North Carolinians at top of mind.
“The biggest fear that western North Carolina is sitting on right now, at least from the communities that we’ve talked to, is being forgotten,” Smith said at Monday’s event, while thanking Trump for hearing and answering his appeal.
“And to have you here and have an opportunity to have this conversation at a national level will keep western North Carolina on the map and not leave the communities holding the bag on the back end of this,” Smith continued. “So we’re very grateful that you’ve shown up, and we’re very grateful that you’ve taken the time.”
Smith added that local residents appreciated that Trump had also waited until a reasonable time to hold an event.
As the former president noted during the press conference, he had visited the affected area shortly after the hurricane but had opted not to turn it into a media circus that would require crucial resources to be reallocated.
Instead Trump “gave us space to operate and function and gave us space to provide relief where it needed to go,” Smith said.
Another local business owner, Mike Stewart of Pine View Buildings, received one of Trump’s famous hugs after sharing his poignant story, and then sought permission to pray for the former president.
Trump also noted, on the topic of relief, that he had raised nearly $8 million dollars with a GoFundMe campaign that he, himself, had authorized.
Some of the money was going to go to Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian charity run by Franklin Graham (which can also receive direct donations for those apprehensive about the previously woke GoFundMe). Trump asked the local residents and lawmakers present to offer their recommendations for other places to direct the money.
During a question-and-answer period with media, Trump slammed the inadequate response from the state’s Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper and the Biden administration—notably the Federal Emergency Management Agency, drawing contrast with how it was run during his own first term as president.
He later shot down a loaded question from the Associated Press that attempted to blame his public criticism of FEMA for an isolated threat against the agency—the provenance of which remains unclear and unconfirmed.
“Well, I think you have to let people know how they’re doing,” Trump said. “If they were doing a great job, I think we should say that, too, because I think they should be rewarded. … If they’re doing a poor job, we’re supposed to not say it?”
Swannanoa resident Linda Jeno, who had showed up ahead of the event with her grandson Mason to catch a glimpse of Trump, noted that where the federal government had been lacking, the community members had nonetheless rallied together in support of one another.
“I’ll tell you, community is lifting up community more than anything, right? And that’s been great. … It’ll make you cry if you think about it.”
She said one business, Blunt Pretzels, had been working with the local First Baptist Church to give away free food.
“You know, the local businesses have really been awesome—and they’re hit too,” Jeno said.”
“They’re out of business,” she continued. “They can’t work. But the people who work for them are coming in and working without a paycheck, just so that they can help provide for other people, and it’s been really great.”
She did credit FEMA with delivering care packages up the mountain to those who are still stranded, due to road closures, in areas like Chimney Rock. The severe flooding in some areas obliterated bridges and took large chunks out of pavement, making the roads unsafe to travel.
Meanwhile, other states, including Kentucky and Louisiana, have also sent their emergency responders to assist with the relief effort.
Mason, who wore what appeared to be a Sonic the Hedgehog hat accompanying his Trump/Vance sticker, said he had become the “11th crewmember” of the Kentucky team.
“The Kentucky guys, they kind of deemed him their mascot,” his grandma clarified.
Ben Sellers is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
