Trump Denies FEMA Aid Extension in State He Won Three Times [View all]
Source: Newsweek
Published Apr 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM EDT | Updated Apr 11, 2025 at 6:38 PM EDT
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein announced Friday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has denied North Carolina's request to extend the full reimbursement period for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.
Why It Matters
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which struck in September 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump voiced sharp criticism of FEMA's response in the swing state of North Carolina, accusing the agency of being too slow to release recovery funds and failing to coordinate effectively with state officials. Trump repeatedly claimed that federal bureaucracy was delaying critical aid, saying in one press briefing, "The people of North Carolina deserve faster, better action. FEMA needs to cut the red tape and get the job done."
He also suggested that political bias might be influencing the pace of assistance, given Trump's staunch support in hard-hit areas of western North Carolina, though FEMA denied the allegations.
Trump secured North Carolina's 15 electoral votes in the past three presidential elections. In 2016, he defeated Hillary Clinton with 49.83 percent of the vote to her 46.17 percent, a margin of 3.66 percentage points. The 2020 election saw a tighter race, with Trump narrowly surpassing Joe Biden by 1.34 percentage points. In the 2024 election, Trump expanded his lead, securing 50.86 percent of the vote against Kamala Harris's 47.65 percent, marking his third consecutive win in the state.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/trump-denies-fema-aid-extension-state-he-won-three-times-2058906
As a note, that 2024 difference in votes was 3.21%, which was actually a tiny improvement of Clinton's 3.66% difference.
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