Biden , 81, sparks fury with claim states are ‘very happy’ with the Hurricane Helene response… after asking reporter bizarre question

President Joe Biden brushed off critics of his hurricane response after returning from a trip amid storm damage — saying people affected by the storm were “very happy” with government assistance.

He defended his government’s aid Thursday evening after a storm damage tour that took him to Florida and Georgia.

A reporter asked Biden what states in the “storm zone” needed from the government, which caught him off guard for a moment. “Say it?” Biden told him.

Biden, returning from a trip that included four helicopter flights and two flights on Air Force One, initially did not appear to hear or understand the question.

“Oh, in the storm zone,” Biden said after an awkward silence. “I’m thinking what storm are you talking about? They get everything they need,” Biden responded. “They are very happy across the board.”

His comments came hours after rival Donald Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris of spending disaster funds on housing for illegal immigrants, even though those funds are specifically earmarked for that purpose by Congress, just like FEMA funding.

“This is the worst response in the history of hurricanes,” Trump said Thursday in Michigan. “Kamala spent all her FEMA money – billions of dollars – on housing for illegal immigrants.”

Congress has usurped it $640 million to support migrants in the 2024 budget year, sparking outrage from Trump allies including Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott after the storm hit.

The explosions followed comments from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who said FEMA “doesn’t have the resources to get through the season,” amid a debate over whether Congress should backtrack on a disaster fund to supplement. The hurricane season usually runs until the end of November. Lawmakers just included $20 billion in an emergency bill to fund the government.

His comments, which came after a day of traveling to meet with storm victims and receive briefings, were immediately posted by the Republican National Committee’s research team, which simply printed Biden’s quotes without further explanation.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who has worked with the administration and is due to appear with Donald Trump on Friday, has also voiced some criticism.

‘When the first emergency declarations came, there were only eleven provinces. “Many people were outraged, including myself, because there was so much destruction in up to 90 provinces,” he told WRDW. He said the White House responded by strengthening the statement by 30 counties.

“So we called the White House. “We spoke to the president’s chief of staff, the FEMA administrator, and said, look, you’re sending the message that you’re not paying attention to some of these rural communities,” he said. Biden said it was likely that every county would be approved for emergency declarations.

Earlier Thursday, Biden bowed his head during a tearful prayer at a Georgia pecan farm that suffered devastating losses as Hurricane Helene, hitting back at criticism of his response Thursday.

The commander-in-chief, 81, stood silently in the sweltering heat as a Ray City farmer concluded his remarks at a post-hurricane event with a prayer.

Biden and senior Washington officials stood listening in front of the rows of huge upturned pecan trees behind him, their leaves brown just days after Hurricane Helene tore through them.

Ray City is about 20 miles north of Valdosta, one of the areas that took the brunt of Helene and where Donald Trump visited earlier this week.

Most of the area remains without power and residents are busy cleaning up the debris from the deadliest hurricane since Katrina, which has killed 200 people so far. At least 33 deaths have been reported in Georgia.

“Lord, this is your creation,” said Buck Paulk, manager of the Shiloh farm, as Biden and lawmakers stood behind him.

“There’s not a twig, leaf, branch or root you don’t take into account,” he said in his Georgia drawl. “Lord, we need help – it all comes from You.”

Farmers here are looking for a different kind of help from Washington, DC, and Biden said they would get it.

The president was answering a question about an additional relief bill, something he said may be needed soon to provide relief. Speaker Mike Johnson previously said other legislation has already replenished a FEMA fund.

‘I can’t wait, I can’t wait. People need help now,” Biden said.

“At times like these, it’s time to put politics aside,” Biden said during his own remarks. He called for “a breakdown of existing fanatical partisanship” and then said that funds in some of his infrastructure legislation went more to red states than to blue ones.

“It’s not one state against another, it’s the United States. You know, there are no Democrats or Republicans here… only Americans are here. I am committed to being president for all Americans.”

Earlier this week, Trump accused Biden of going out of his way to not help Republicans hit by the storm.

At a meeting on Thursday, he said the response was worse than Hurricane Katrina.

“There is no one who has weathered a hurricane or storm worse than what he is doing now,” Trump said. “Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal immigrants. Many of them should not be in our country

Biden mentioned Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp, thanking him and saying they had spoken earlier Thursday.

Kemp has already arranged for their contact, but Kemp was not personally present for the presidential tour of his state.

The event featured Senator Rafael Warnock, a Democrat who helped give Democrats their majority, as well as Representative Austin Scott, a Republican who also recognized Biden.

“FEMA has been here. The coordination was pretty good,” Scott told DailyMail.com at the farm.

He said damage to the entire pecan crop was “somewhere around $500 million.”

During an earlier storm tour in Florida, Biden met people who lost their homes. Some homes were completely gone, with only bare poles standing in what had been a community of retirees and vacationers near Big Bend, where the storm made landfall.

The president was accompanied by Senator Rick Scott, who attended in jeans and his trusty Navy ball cap from previous storm duty.

But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was not there, despite an apparent attempt by the White House to reach out.

When asked why DeSantis wasn’t there, Scott told DailyMail.com, “I don’t know.” DailyMail.com has contacted the governor’s office for comment.

DeSantis has been with Biden during other disasters, including after the Surfside building collapse, which occurred as the two were monitoring a possible presidential contest.

The governor, who endorsed Donald Trump after a bitter primary that ended in his defeat, may recall a famous event in which New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie famously toured Hurricane Sandy weeks before the 2012 election. Observers say it helped Obama win re-election.

The trip to Georgia was the last by a top politician to a damaged state, with Vice President Kamala Harris also involved in the action with a visit to North Carolina.

Trump gained the edge over both Biden and Harris with his visit on Monday, where his baseless claim that the administration was ousting Kemp drew opposition from the White House.

If “rabid partisanship” was on Biden’s mind in Georgia, he made an emphatic statement to reporters as he touched down near DC, minutes after former GOP Rep. and Trump foe Liz Cheney Harris took the stage in Wisconsin had supported.

“She gave one of the most influential speeches I have ever heard. She has character. I know her father… We argue, but I have always admired his courage and honesty,” Biden told reporters after returning to Air Force One.

“What she did took not only political courage, but also physical courage… I was incredibly proud of her.” But he reacted angrily when DailyMail.com asked him what he would do to bring more Republicans to Harris.

‘I don’t make that judgement. I’m talking about her… She and her father have character, character, damn it. There’s not enough.’