WASHINGTON — President Biden bristled Monday when a journalist asked the retiring commander-in-chief about monitoring the fallout from deadly hurricane flooding from his Delaware vacation home rather than the White House — saying, “It’s called a telephone.”
“Why weren’t you and Vice President Harris here in Washington commanding this [response] this weekend?” a journalist asked Biden, 81, in the White House Roosevelt Room on Monday morning.
President Biden on Monday defended monitoring Hurricane Helene’s impact from his Delaware beach house. REUTERS“I was commanding it. I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I commanded it,” the president replied.
“It’s called a telephone,” he further snapped — before giving a similar response at a second event later in the day.
Delaware is “90 miles from here,” Biden said in the Oval Office hours later as he again was pressed on his absence from the seat of power.
“I was on the phone the whole time,” he insisted.
Biden, pictured Saturday near the Delaware shore with aide Anthony Bernal (right), is retiring on Jan. 20. APBiden defended his response as Harris, 59, flew back from a weekend campaign trip to Arizona and Nevada — rushing to FEMA headquarters Monday afternoon in Washington to express concern for the crisis.
Helene's path of destruction
- Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend coastline Thursday night as a Category 4 hurricane, pounding the state with 155-mph gusts and killing at least 13.
- Helene moved northeast into Georgia, where it was downgraded to a tropical storm by Friday morning, but winds and floods left 25 dead in the state.
- By Friday afternoon, Helene had moved over parts of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, where at least 29 died.
- Relentless rain drenched Appalachia Friday night, sending floodwaters and mudslides crashing through mountain towns.
- In North Carolina, at least 35 people died in the Asheville area, and a tornado injured 15 in Rocky Mount.
- Over the weekend, rescuers struggled to clear roads and recover bodies. The death toll is 192 and counting.
“The true character of the nation is revealed in moments of hardship,” the Democratic presidential nominee told emergency agency workers in a pep talk.
“Moments like this remind us that we have so much more in common than what separates us.”
Biden said Monday he may need to seek more hurricane response aid from Congress. REUTERSHarris made the stop after drawing ridicule from former President Donald Trump for tweeting a photo of herself working the phones from Air Force Two, but wearing headphones that were not plugged in.
Trump, the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 election, tweeted, “Another FAKE and STAGED photo from someone who has no clue what she is doing. You have to plug the cord into the phone for it to work!”
Biden, meanwhile, hastily arranged a second hurricane recovery-focused event late Monday amid reports that more than 100 people may have died as a result of Hurricane Helene — most of them in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Flood damage at a bridge across Mill Creek in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on September 30, 2024 in Old Fort, North Carolina. Getty Images“I’m going to North Carolina on Wednesday,” Biden said in the Oval Office — as he had a video conference with Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC).
“It’s planned now. We’re going to be landing in Raleigh for a meeting with the Emergency Operations Center, and I’ll then do an aerial tour.”
At both of his events, Biden attempted to walk back his Sunday comment that enough aid already had been rendered to the impacted jurisdictions.
Biden defended his Hurricane response as VP Harris flew back from a weekend trip to Arizona and Nevada. Getty ImagesBiden said Monday morning that seeking recovery funds from Congress “is something I may have to request.”
On Monday afternoon, he said that the federal government is rushing in “additional helicopters for land bridges” to ensure medical supplies are delivered and that search and rescue operations can be effective.
Biden also said that ”getting water in here on a sustained basis is going to be critical” and that other supplies would need to be brought in “for weeks” by authorities.”
A day prior, Biden was notably more self-assured about his administration’s performance when a reporter asked for his message to hurricane victims.
“We’ve given them all that, everything that we have. We’re on the ground ahead of time. So we’re working hard,” Biden replied as he left his Delaware vacation home.
“Are there any more resources the federal government could be giving them?” a reporter followed up.
“No, Biden said. “We’ve given them — we preplanned a significant amount of it.”
