In their slow and inadequate response to assist the victims of Hurricane Helene, the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris displayed true disdain for Americans. This attitude is shocking but not surprising.
From the first day of their administration, Biden and Harris have jeopardized the safety of the American people. By immediately opening the borders, Biden and Harris allowed illegal drugs to be smuggled into the country. This contributed to the 107,543 drug overdose deaths in 2023, including 74,702 killed by synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
The open border also allowed undocumented migrants from around the world to stream into our country. Among these “newcomers” were terrorists, drug dealers, murderers, and rapists.
After saturating the country with noncitizens, Biden and Harris decided to ensure that these individuals were given plenty of resources in their transition to living in the United States. Since 2023, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection have bestowed over $1.1 billion to communities throughout the country that received undocumented migrants.
Funding for the resettlement of migrants was dispersed through a FEMA program called “Shelter and Services.” This program is separate from the “Disaster Relief Fund” that FEMA uses to respond to hurricanes.
While the funds are separate, FEMA should not be involved in resettling undocumented migrants. In fact, our country should have a secure border with no need to fund the resettlement of undocumented migrants.
Sadly, FEMA has not focused the attention or funding on the real mission of their agency, disaster recovery. This is why the agency has failed to properly respond to the victims of Hurricane Helene with essential resources.
The criticism has been so intense that the FEMA Director of Public Affairs, Jaclyn Rothenberg, locked her X account. This is outrageous because in the aftermath of a crisis, such as a major hurricane, is precisely when a public relations professional working for FEMA should be communicating with Americans in desperate need. Instead, Rothenberg, supposedly a “seasoned on-the-record spokesperson,” is offline, unwilling to respond to the torrent of negative comments her agency receives from the public.
The criticism is justified as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted that FEMA “does not have the funds to make it through” the end of the current hurricane season. Previously, Mayorkas had claimed that FEMA was “tremendously prepared” for the 2024 hurricane season.
This revelation is especially troublesome as another hurricane is barreling toward Florida this week. Florida is already reeling from Hurricane Helene, the most devastating storm to impact the United States since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In just one Florida county, Pinellas, over 17,000 homes were partially or totally destroyed.
Presently, the death count from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm, stands at 227, but that number will surely rise in the days ahead. There are still 170,000 people without power, just in western North Carolina, ten days after the hurricane slammed into Florida.
To make matters worse, FEMA has been preventing “Good Samaritans” from helping Hurricane Helene victims. Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, revealed that one of his engineers “helping on the ground in North Carolina” reported that “FEMA is actively blocking shipments and seizing goods and services locally and locking them away.”
As Musk posted on X, his engineers were “trying to deliver Starlink terminals & supplies to devastated areas in North Carolina.” Instead of cooperating, Musk noted that FEMA “is both failing to help AND won’t let others help. This is unconscionable!!”
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) stated that FEMA Director Deanne Criswell will appear before the House Oversight Committee to answer why her agency is “confiscating supplies” and “blocking help to Helene survivors.” Greene called for Criswell’s resignation.
As Hurricane Helene victims struggled to survive, the Biden/Harris administration announced FEMA would provide $750 in assistance funds. Vice President Harris encouraged victims to “apply now” for the funds; however, many of the victims do not have electricity or Internet service.
This paltry sum pales in comparison to the extravagant assistance the Biden administration has given to the government of Ukraine since the Russians invaded their country in February of 2022. Ukraine is located a great distance from the United States, 5,705 miles away. No wonder a recent Gallup poll showed that the war in Ukraine is not among the top 30 issues that concern Americans.
Despite the indifference of Americans, as of June 30, 2024, the United States had allocated $174.2 billion in military and humanitarian funding for the government of Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
In the last few months, Ukrainian assistance has continued to grow. Several weeks ago, Biden announced another $8 billion in aid for Ukraine, including “military stockpiles” and “an additional Patriot air defense battery and expanding training for F-16 pilots.”
This funding was coupled with $2.4 billion in “security assistance” and “additional air defense and unmanned aerial systems as well as air-to-ground munitions.” Biden claimed it has been “a top priority of my Administration to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevail.”
In return, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has displayed much appreciation to Biden. He recently flew to our country on a United States military aircraft and appeared at an ammunition factory with Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. In essence, this was a campaign stop for Democrats. In contrast, in an interview, Zelensky called Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), “too radical” for his opposition to U.S. funding for the Ukrainian government.
To add insult to injury, the Biden administration’s Ambassador to the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, boasted in a video that American aid allowed 500,000 Ukrainians to have electricity for lighting and heat. In stunning contrast, thousands of Hurricane Helene victims struggle to survive without power. Thus, Ukrainians received the type of assistance being denied to American citizens.
Under Biden/Harris, Americans are last, “Let them eat cake.”
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian, and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America's Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-9 a.m. & 6-7 p.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America's Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com