President Biden visits tornado-ravaged Kentucky, describes destruction as ‘almost beyond belief’

President Joe Biden toured tornado-ravaged Kentucky on Wednesday to survey the damage and talk to residents affected by the disaster.

The President commented on the amount of destruction, as he had never seen that amount of damage (USA Today). “The scope and scale of this destruction is almost beyond belief,” Biden said.

Biden took an aerial tour of the damage and talked to citizens in the small town of Mayfield, KY, a town that was hit directly by the tornado. “I’m here to listen,” he said. “I think the vast majority of Americans know what you’ve been through just looking on the television.”

The President passed through the town and visited one of the churches that had been destroyed. He reflected on how the town had come together in light of the tragedy that had taken place. “There’s no red tornadoes or blue tornadoes,” he said.

“We’re going to stay until this gets finished and totally reconstructed. A lot of people have gone through a god-awful mess. Right now, they’re just recovering from the shock of it all,” Biden continued. He talked to faith-based groups who were praying over the rubble, and commented that they were “doing God’s work.”

Biden stopped through several other communities that had been devastated by the storm, including Dawson Springs, where he talked with residents who were working to clean up their town.

The President discussed how climate change has impacted the nation during his brief visit to Kentucky. In this year alone, weather related disasters have resulted in $99 billion in damages. However, the focus of his visit was not to lecture on climate change, but to listen to the needs of those affected by the tornadoes in Kentucky.