Trump in North Carolina: 'Very Disappointed in FEMA'; on Schiff: 'It Looks Like He Got Hit With a Baseball Bat' (January 24, 2025)

“I don’t know, I was told that Schiff was going to travel with us to California. I wasn’t thrilled, to be honest with you,” Trump said, to laughter. “And I saw him last night on television. It looks like he got hit with a baseball bat or something. What happened to him? Something happened to him.” [1]

“It looked like he got hit. It looked like he got beat around,” Trump added. “But I’ll ask Karoline to find out what happened to him.” [1]

The video above shows Trump’s remarks at a briefing on Hurricane Helene recovery in Fletcher, North Carolina, on Jan. 24, 2025. Quotes are from the American Presidency Project, the Federal Register and GovInfo [1][2][3][4].

”Somebody Did”

Before leaving the White House, Trump got the same question. “Mr. President, why did you invite Adam Schiff on your trip given you called him ‘scum’ earlier this week?” a reporter asked [2].

“I don’t know. Is he going? Is he going?” Trump asked. Told no, he said: “I didn’t invite him. Somebody did.” [2]

“Very Disappointed in FEMA”

In North Carolina, Trump got to the point. “I want to say that we’re very disappointed in FEMA,” he said [1].

“So Hurricane Helene was one of the worst natural disasters in American history. It was far worse than it was even billed,” Trump said. “A hundred and four people lost their lives. Seventy-three thousand homes were severely damaged or destroyed.” [1]

“At one point, half of the emergency calls to FEMA went unanswered. That’s real bad. FEMA was not doing their job. The city of Asheville went without running water for 2 months,” Trump said. “A whistleblower testified that some FEMA employees refused to help people who displayed Trump signs on their properties.” [1]

“The Disaster After the Disaster”

Trump turned to the state House speaker, Destin Hall. “Earlier this year, FEMA kicked 2,000 North Carolinians out of their temporary housing into below-freezing temperatures. What was that all about?” Trump asked [1]. “We had an incompetent administration under Biden. And we had a disaster, and then we call it ‘the disaster after the disaster’—that was the FEMA response,” Hall said [1].

“You had nothing but disaster since then. I—it doesn’t matter at this point. Biden did a bad job,” Trump said [1].

“I don’t know if that was for political reasons because they lost the State. You know, Biden lost the State. Maybe he felt—he doesn’t care. Maybe there were other reasons. I don’t know. But this has been very slow,” he said later [1].

”Maybe Getting Rid of FEMA”

Trump announced a shake-up. “Well, I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA or maybe getting rid of FEMA,” he said [1].

“I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away and we pay directly—we pay a percentage to the State. But the State should fix this,” Trump said [1].

Asked to explain, he joked: “FEMA has been a very big disappointment. They cost a tremendous amount of money. It’s very bureaucratic, and it’s very slow. Other than that, we’re very happy with them. Okay?” [1]

“Release the Water”

Asked whether he would put conditions on disaster aid, Trump drew a line between the two states. “Well, in California, I have a condition. In California, we want them to have voter ID so the people have a voice,” he said. “And we also want them to release the water.” [1]

“But here, I don’t have that. It’s a different thing. You got hit by a storm,” Trump said of North Carolina [1].

He also thanked Elon Musk. “I want to thank Elon, because Elon was able to get us communication systems, as you know—Starlink,” Trump said. “I think it saved a lot of lives, actually.” [1]

“They Can Hire Their Own Security”

A reporter asked about Dr. Anthony Fauci losing his security detail. “No, I think, you know, when you work for Government, at some point, your security detail comes off. And you know, you can’t have them forever,” Trump said [1].

“You know, they all made a lot of money. They can hire their own security too,” he said [1].

By the Numbers

104: North Carolinians who died, per Trump [1].
73,000: homes severely damaged or destroyed, per Trump [1].
2,000: North Carolinians Trump said FEMA forced out of temporary housing [1].
4: days Trump had been in office [1].
Nearly $30 billion: FEMA’s yearly disaster aid obligations, per Trump’s order [3].
20: maximum members of the new FEMA Review Council [3].

What Happened Next

Trump signed the FEMA order the same day. Executive Order 14180, “Council To Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” says: “The Federal responses to Hurricane Helene and other recent disasters demonstrate the need to drastically improve the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s” efficacy, priorities and competence [3].

“There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA. Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President,” the order says [3].

He signed the Laken Riley Act. In Fletcher, Trump said of the bill, “I will definitely be signing it.” [1] It became Public Law 119-1 on Jan. 29, 2025 [4].

For the Biden White House on FEMA money and migrants, see HYGO News’ page on Oct. 4, 2024. For Stefanik on the border crisis a year earlier, see the page on Jan. 30, 2024.