The National Guard is coming to Kamala Harris’ defense after a soldier alleged the vice president took a photo op in front of hurricane relief workers without ever actually sending the supplies to victims.
The sensational allegations were made on a podcast hosted by Shawn Ryan, a former US Navy Seal, who spoke to veterans who helped with Hurricane Helene cleanup efforts in North Carolina.
But a spokesperson for the North Carolina National Guard has since stepped forward to deny the allegations. They told Fox News that the plane was supposed to make a relief trip, but the flight was canceled at the last minute due to a mechanical problem.
The spokesperson added that the supplies were loaded onto another plane and delivered to Helene’s victims the next day.
The Democratic presidential candidate traveled to North Carolina in Helene’s wake, where she stood in front of a C-17 plane flanked by military personnel to pledge continued federal support for the victims.
“I had a squadron commander from North Carolina contact me, they had to load a C-17 full of supplies just to take a picture for Kamala, and they never sent the bird,” Jonathan Howard, of not- for- profit that Aerial Recovery had claimed.
“They loaded up a whole C-17 full of stuff for the hurricane victims so Kamala could go there, take a photo and take a video, and they never sent the C-17.”
Kamala Harris is accused of organizing a photo op for hurricane relief workers without actually sending the supplies to the victims.
The Democratic presidential candidate traveled to North Carolina in Helene’s wake, where she stood in front of a C-17 plane flanked by military personnel to pledge continued federal support for the victims.
DailyMail.com has contacted Harris for comment on the allegations.
At least four C-17s have delivered supplies to North Carolina since the tragedy, the Air Force announced earlier this week.
Chief Master Sgt. Jeremy Mullins said pilots worked around the clock to ensure victims in the Asheville area received supplies in a timely manner.
About 228 pallets (about 50,000 pounds) of food, water and medicine have been delivered to people in need.
Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida overnight on September 26 before devastating Georgia and the Carolinas.
Members of the North Carolina Air National Guard push a hurricane relief pallet into position on a C-17 Globemaster III for delivery to Western North Carolina
Pictured: A C-17 is loaded before a hurricane relief package is delivered
Members of the North Carolina Air National Guard transport essential supplies to Western North Carolina
More than 230 people died in the United States after Helene tore through the southern states. Just two weeks later, Hurricane Milton struck Florida, causing even more misery for locals still trying to recover from Helene.
Western North Carolina was the hardest-hit region, with at least 120 confirmed deaths and scores of local residents still missing. At least 3,200 people had to be rescued after the storm.
Eyewitness accounts from affected regions say volunteers and authorities are still removing bodies from the remains of buildings and the official death toll is significantly underreported.
Western North Carolina was the hardest hit region, with at least 120 confirmed deaths and scores of locals still missing
Eyewitness accounts from affected regions say volunteers and authorities are still removing bodies from the remains of buildings and the official death toll is significantly underreported
In a tragic story from the region, an entire family of eleven was wiped out by a landslide caused by the storm.
Jesse Craig, 35, of Fletcher, is reeling after his parents, aunts and uncles, great aunt and uncles and cousins died in an area of Fairview colloquially known as “Craigtown” as the family was already living there lived for more than eight years. decades.
“It’s unrecognizable now, but this is where I was born and raised,” Craig said as he stood with an ABC 11 reporter outside the area where he used to live.
Some grieving families in North Carolina have been forced to bury their dead in their backyards — accusing authorities of downplaying the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
More than half of the death toll occurred in North Carolina, and many bodies have not even been recovered due to the rubble and flooding.
“I had a squadron commander from North Carolina contact me, they had to load a C-17 full of supplies just to take a picture for Kamala, and they never sent the bird,” Jonathan Howard, of not- for- gain Aerial Recovery claimed
Jesse Craig, 35, of Fletcher, is reeling after his parents (pictured with Jesse and his wife), aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, and cousins died in an area of Fairview known colloquially as as ‘Craigtown’, as the family has lived there for over eighty years
There are also piles of dead people who have yet to be identified. They are transported across the state in hopes of finding an open mortuary space.
All mortuaries are full and they have collected a ton [of bodies] to Greensboro, state officials said. “People are starting to bury them in their yards because they have no place to put them.”
There are suggestions that the devastation in Republican-controlled states with extremely tight margins – such as North Carolina and Georgia – could impact the November election and benefit Democrats.
The storm may have completely destroyed polling places, with W. Travis Doss Jr., the executive director of Georgia’s Augusta-Richmond County Board of Elections, telling CNN, “We have no power. We have no water. Cell service is limited.”
And if a voter’s polling place has changed while they’re already struggling to rebuild their community, “then that might be the final straw that makes it too much for them to vote,” says Kevin Morris, a voting policy scholar at the Brennan Center for Justice. .
