President Donald Trump made his first presidential visit of his second term in Asheville, North Carolina, to tour the damage left by Hurricane Helene.
Later Friday, Trump will visit California, where wildfires continue to cause destruction in the Los Angeles area.
Both events were declared major disasters by President Joe Biden before President Trump took office. The declaration meant federal resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be used to assist residents and local governments.
President Trump has been critical of FEMA's work.
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"FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida. We had Alabama tornadoes. But unless you have certain types of leadership, it's really, it gets in the way. And FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems," President Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity.
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President Trump was also critical of the response to the California wildfires and the work of the state's Gov. Gavin Newsom. Ahead of Trump's visit, Newsom signed a $2.5 billion disaster relief bill that was passed unanimously by state lawmakers.
President Trump has suggested that disaster relief for California could come with stipulations.
