U.S. President Donald Trump visited disaster-hit western North Carolina on Friday and was traveling later to Los Angeles, promising help while stoking partisan tensions with Democratic rivals over recovery efforts.

In North Carolina Friday, President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order aimed at what he said would address problems inherent to FEMA.

Donald Trump, who has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene, which struck North Carolina in September 2024, said that he would like to see states assume more responsibility in the aftermath of natural disasters, rather than the federal government.