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Asheville, NC – Two North Carolina locals who survived Hurricane Helene In September, but suffered massive losses from the storm shared a single quote from President Donald Trump that stayed with them during their Friday visit to hurricane-impacted areas.
“He seems to really care, and… I’m glad he’s here, because it seems like we were forgotten or never cared under the other administration,” Fairview resident Curtis Wright, who met trump on fridaysaid Fox News Digital.
“He said, ‘We’re here and we’re going to help you,’ and I believe him,” Wright added.
Wright’s father lost his home and small business, and Wright himself lost his home, as well as tractors and tools for his farm.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he visits a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on January 24, 2025. .
“We all lost everything, and it’s hard to build back up when you don’t have tools,” he said.
The president and first lady, Melania Trump, He arrived in Asheville, North Carolina, Around 10 a.m. Friday and then they made stops in Fletcher and Swannanoa. Trump spoke alongside local residents and politicians before heading to California to visit areas impacted by wildfires on Friday afternoon.
A Trump flag posted on a tree in the Swannanoa development of Helene, North Carolina, on January 24, 2025. (Fox News Digital)
“We have come to North Carolina with a simple message for all the people in this region who were hit so hard by Hurricane Helene, and that message is very simple: You are no longer forgotten,” Trump said in Swannanoa before listening to Personal Stories from a group of locals.
“You don’t forget anymore.”
Numerous people across Western North Carolina are still sleeping in tents and campers more than 100 days after the storm reached the area in the early morning hours of September 27. Most of the campers on private property have been donated by local and national charities, such as Samaritan’s Purse and Cajun Navy, which is working with RV Emergency to donate new used campers.
Others stay in campers donated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at specific sites designated by FEMA.
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North Carolinians living in a row of donated private campers in Swannanoa. (Fox News Digital)
Emergency RV’s Holly Cape told Fox News Digital that the organization has donated 87 RVs so far, but they expect that number to rise to 104 next week.
“I promised that I would return to Western North Carolina to help the people of the state, and today, here I must fulfill that promise,” Trump said Friday. “We’ve got a lot of things on our mind, and we’re getting the…Army Corps of Engineers all set. You need your riverbanks fixed. You need a lot of roads fixed. And we’ll do it in quick time”
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A tent and camper in Swannanoa, North Carolina. (Fox News Digital)
The Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, told Fox News Digital on Friday that he appreciates Trump’s visiting hurricane survivors.
“To have the president come today and shake hands and talk to them and see their homes that had been destroyed, I can’t begin to tell you what that meant to these people,” he said. “They were very grateful to see the president of the United States come forward for them. It gave people hope.”
The Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, speaks during President Donald Trump’s visit to Hurricane Helene, which overlooks Hurricane, North Carolina on January 24, 2025. (Samaritan Bag)
Much of the destroyed landscape in Swannanoa looks unchanged compared to the weeks after the storm, for the first time. , more debris organized in specific piles rather than outside each house, certain sections of land that have been cleared or slumbered.
Progress is happening slowly, and locals say the biggest need right now is still sheltering in the cold winter months.
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U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave as they depart Air Force upon arrival at Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, North Carolina, Jan. 24, 2025, to visit the devastated region by Hurricane Helene. .
Residents hope FEMA will reduce some of its bureaucracy under the new administration so that people with urgent needs can get faster access to those needs, whether it be money, housing or other forms of assistance.
“It’s undeniable that FEMA dropped the ball in North Carolina,” Rep. Mark Harris, R.N.C., told Fox News Digital. “My visit to Asheville with President Trump only confirmed that FEMA has stood in the way of our state’s ability to rebuild and provide real assistance to the victims of Hurricane Helene. Clearly FEMA must be reformed, and I will work with President Trump in Congress to make sure Americans facing a disaster get the help they need.”
A Trump sign posted on a telephone pole in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on January 24, 2025. (Fox News Digital)
“The way it is, it needs to be restructured,” Wright said of FEMA. “It’s very difficult to get money for immediate needs…we lost everything and…almost all we got was the $750.”
“We the people are for it.”
Wright also noted that locals are upset about “billions of dollars overseas,” while people have immediate housing needs in North Carolina and other places affected by Helene.
Hurricane Helene created billions of dollars in damage as it destroyed homes, farms, and critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and power lines. Parts of highways connecting North Carolina and Tennessee They have been closed since the end of September.
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More than 100 people died as a result of the hurricane in North Carolina alone, and the total death count is more than 230 in six states, including South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and Florida.
