As of Oct. 5, 115 deaths had been reported by North Carolina state and local authorities.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.—While cleanup and rescue efforts continued on the opposite side of the state, former President Donald Trump chastised the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene at a town hall in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Oct. 4
Speaking in front of a packed Crown Center Arena, Trump told a crowd that included many active-duty and retired military members that the federal response to the disaster had been “rotten” and “terrible.”
“They are doing—this is Katrina—the worst job on a hurricane that any administration has ever done. And these people don’t want to talk about it,” Trump said as he gestured to the media.
A week has passed since Hurricane Helene swept through the region. As the death toll continues to increase, the level of devastation is becoming clearer with entire towns leveled by floodwaters and infrastructure and roads severely damaged.
As of Oct. 5, 115 deaths had been reported by North Carolina state and local authorities, according to local media reports.
President Joe Biden viewed the storm damage by air on Oct. 3 and promised the deployment of 1,000 active-duty U.S. Army troops from North Carolina’s Fort Liberty, which borders Fayetteville.
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit areas impacted by the disaster on Oct. 5.
Trump is scheduled to tour western North Carolina next week. Asheville is located around 260 miles west of Fayetteville.
On Oct. 3, Trump wrote in a social media post that he didn’t “want to do anything that’s going to interrupt their rescue efforts.”
Earlier in the day, he toured parts of Georgia impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Trump said at the town hall that FEMA was “missing a billion dollars,” seemingly referencing the claim that money had been distributed to illegal immigrants in the United States. In a statement, FEMA denied the allegations.
Fayetteville is the home of Fort Liberty, a sprawling military complex that was called Fort Bragg for decades until the name of Confederate Civil War Gen. Braxton Bragg was removed.
Fort Liberty is home to airborne and special operations forces.
In his opening remarks at the town hall, Trump said he would restore Fort Bragg’s name if he returns to the White House.
“Everybody, this is an honor. You know, I walked in, the first question that I asked, ‘Should we change the name Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg?’
“So here’s what we do, we get elected—I’m doing it, I’m doing it, I’m doing it,” he added. “You know, we did win two world wars from Fort Bragg, right? So this is no time to be changing names, but we’re gonna do that.”
Fort Liberty was originally named Fort Bragg to honor the former Confederate general and West Point graduate in 1918. It was renamed in June 2023 as part of the Department of Defense’s efforts to remove Confederate names from military installations.
During his town hall address, Trump reiterated his promise to aggressively target the deportation of illegal immigrants, which he said will decrease crime. He also said that he would increase military pay and reform health care for active-duty military members and veterans.
“We’re going to take care of our veterans properly,” Trump said.
Trump has appeared in North Carolina multiple times this year. He won the state in both of his previous White House election bids, including by a 1.3 percent margin in 2020.