WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration’s response to the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, even as his supporters have called for cuts to federal agencies that warn of weather disasters and deliver relief to hard-hit communities. As president, Trump for hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico and in order to finance an effort to return undocumented migrants to Mexico. And , backed by Trump supporters, would restructure FEMA to limit aid to states and says that the National Weather Service, which provides crucial data on hurricanes and other storms, “should be broken up and downsized.
” Trump Monday that the Biden administration and North Carolina’s Democratic governor were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.” And Trump adviser Stephen Miller said President Joe Biden “failed to evacuate or rescue” U.S.
citizens, ’‘just like you failed in Afghanistan.’’ White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said officials have rescued and supported more than 1,400 people in areas impacted by the storm. “This is what they do,′′ she said, referring to rescue efforts by FEMA and other federal agencies.
“It doesn’t matter which state it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s a red state or blue state,’’ Jean-Pierre said Monday. “This is their job — to get food there, to get generators there, to save some lives, to rescue people.
And so we are very proud of the work that .
