JD Vance visited Virginia on Monday for his first official trip as vice president
Lonely – JD Vance is making good on his promise to US voters when he makes his first trip as vice president to Damascus, Virginia, on Monday to visit areas affected by Hurricane Helene in late September.
In the year It will be Vance’s second trip to Damascus after it swept through the Southeast on September 27, ravaging parts of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida and killing more than 200 people.
Vice President Vance visited Damascus residents in October after the city was damaged by Hurricane Herene, a spokeswoman for the vice president told Fox News Digital. “He promised to come back, and now he’s making good on that promise. The first week of this administration has made it clear that President Trump and Vice President Vance will keep their word.”
Vance’s trip comes days after President Donald Trump, Melania Trump and other politicians visited Asheville, Fletcher and Swansea, North Carolina, on Jan. 24, marking the president’s second trip to those areas since September.
Hurricane survivors who met Trump in North Carolina clung to the president’s words.
Vice President-elect JD Vance is sworn in as his wife, Usha Vance, looks on at the 60th presidential inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)
Trump spoke in all three cities but allowed local residents who lost everything in Helena to share their own personal stories during a stop in Swannanoa. Some local residents protested the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s handling of the disaster, arguing that it was too much to provide housing, money and both to those who needed immediate assistance.
“I will also sign an executive order to begin the fundamental reform process and Reforming FEMAOr maybe get rid of FEMA,” Trump told reporters Friday morning in North Carolina. “I think, frankly, FEMA is not good.”
FEMA Extends Transitional Housing Program for North Carolina Residents Displaced by Hurricane Helena
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a visit to a Herren-affected neighborhood in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on January 24, 2025. (MANDEL/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump also vowed to help the administration get into North Carolina and fix the damage quickly, promising to “do a good job” for the state.
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“We’re going to fix it, and we’re going to fix it as fast as you can,” Trump said. “It’s a massive disaster. FMA really let us down, let the country down. And I don’t know if that’s Biden’s fault or whose fault it is, but we’ll take it. Good job.”
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.