“Don’t hesitate to ask for anything”: Biden tours Kentucky tornado damage

Joe Biden, U.S. President: “We’re also partly on the Chesapeake Bay, as well as on the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean, we got a lot of storms. But nothing like we’ve seen the tornado that came through here. But the main thing I want to say is I’m amazed. I’ve been asking my FEMA folks and and my Homeland Security what, what is the most impressive thing you’ve seen? I meant in terms, I started off thinking in damage. They said they way you all come together, where people just come out of nowhere to help as a community, and that’s what we’re supposed to be doing. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. There’s no red tornadoes and blue tornadoes. There’s no red states and blue states when this stuff starts to happen. And I think at least in my experience, it either brings people together or really knocks them apart. And you’re moving it together here. So but look, one thing I’ll say, and but I want to hear from all of you is that and I know the governor and the former governor been through this before, but immediately after a disaster is a time when people are really moving and trying to help each other and get things done. But after a month, after six weeks, after two months, people can get themselves to the point where they get fairly depressed about what’s going on, particularly our young kids, particularly people who have lost somebody. And so I just want you to know the help that we’re able to offer at the federal level is not just now.”

“Anyway, I just want I just want you to know and I’m driving the governor crazy, calling him all the time. But there may be things available that would be helpful, six weeks, six months from now that you’re unaware of. And so we’re I’ve instructed my team to make all aware of everything that is available from a federal level, and some of it has to do outside of FEMA, outside of the Homeland Security. There’s other programs, including education, a whole range of things, so. But I’m here to listen and I tell you, this is one of those things where I think the vast majority of Americans know what you’ve been through, just looking at television. It has been incredible. Your colleagues talk about it, they’ve seen it. They said, Holy gosh, what’s going on? And so we’re going to be here for a little while. I want to walk through town, if that’s OK, a little bit. And then we’re going to go off to Dawson Springs, anyway. But thank you, and don’t hesitate to ask for anything. If we can’t do it, we’ll tell you, we can’t. We’ll tell you from experience how you can maybe get it done if you can’t get it done through the federal way.”