Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to a North Carolina National Guard base on October 5, intended to highlight hurricane relief efforts, has ignited a wave of controversy after claims surfaced that a C-17 plane loaded with aid was staged for a photo op and never made its intended delivery. The accusations, made on Shawn Ryan’s podcast by members of the Aerial Recovery group, quickly gained traction on social media, prompting the North Carolina National Guard to issue a statement defending the visit and explaining the situation surrounding the aircraft.
The controversy began when Jonathan Howard and Charlie Keebaugh, members of Aerial Recovery, appeared on Ryan’s podcast on October 10. They claimed that the North Carolina National Guard loaded a C-17 aircraft full of hurricane relief supplies solely for a staged photo opportunity during Vice President Harris’ visit. According to Howard, a squadron commander from North Carolina had informed him that the plane was loaded merely to provide a backdrop for the vice president’s visit, and that the aircraft never made the journey to deliver the aid.
“They had to load a C-17 full of supplies just to take a photo op for Kamala,” Howard told Ryan. “They loaded an entire C-17 full of supplies for the hurricane victims just for Kamala to go there, take a photo, take a video, and they never sent the C-17.”
These claims were swiftly picked up by social media influencers and political pundits, adding fuel to ongoing partisan battles over the Biden administration’s response to recent natural disasters, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In response to the allegations, Lt. Ellis Parks, the Director of Public Affairs for the North Carolina National Guard, provided clarification to The Daily Caller. Parks denied that the plane was loaded purely for a photo op and explained that the plane had been scheduled to carry hurricane relief supplies before Harris’ visit.
“Our guys at 145th Airlift Wing said, ‘We didn’t load the plane because she was coming; we were doing that because the people of Asheville need us,’” Parks told the Daily Caller. He added that the C-17 aircraft, with the serial number 01-0197, was indeed loaded with supplies for hurricane relief efforts but suffered mechanical issues that prevented it from taking off as planned.
Parks emphasized that the plane’s maintenance issues were the only reason the aid was delayed and denied any claims that the visit interfered with the National Guard’s operations. According to Parks, the relief supplies were subsequently offloaded and loaded onto a second C-17 aircraft (serial number 062), which also encountered technical difficulties. However, this plane was eventually able to make the trip to Asheville the following morning, on October 6, successfully delivering the aid.
While the North Carolina National Guard provided detailed explanations about the technical difficulties that affected the aircraft, doubts continue to linger. The timing of the mechanical failures, coupled with Harris’ presence during the loading process, has sparked debate over whether the event was manipulated for political gain.
Flight records from flight radar show that the original C-17, serial number 01-0197, did not head to Asheville after the vice president’s visit. Instead, the aircraft flew to Germany on October 9, raising further questions among skeptics who argue that the aid was never a priority during Harris’ visit.
Despite the explanations from the National Guard, Aerial Recovery members maintain their version of events. On the podcast, Howard reiterated his claim that the relief efforts were staged, pointing to the fact that the plane was loaded with supplies, photographed, and then allegedly grounded without delivering the aid in a timely manner.
The controversy over the relief plane comes at a time when Vice President Kamala Harris is already embroiled in a political feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the federal and state responses to recent hurricanes. Following Hurricane Milton, Harris criticized DeSantis for not taking her phone calls regarding relief efforts, accusing the Florida governor of playing political games with disaster relief.
DeSantis, in turn, responded by dismissing Harris’ complaints as a campaign stunt, accusing her of turning a crisis into a political battle. “These are political games,” DeSantis said during a press conference. “What we need is leadership, not posturing.”
President Joe Biden was also dragged into the dispute but avoided directly defending Harris when asked about DeSantis’ refusal to take her calls. During an October 9 press briefing, Biden downplayed the conflict, stating, “I’ve talked to Gov. DeSantis. He’s been very gracious. He’s thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we are doing, and I think that’s important.”
In an effort to address the mounting accusations, the North Carolina National Guard stated that they are in the process of gathering the maintenance codes from the malfunctioning aircraft to provide transparency and prove that the delays were due to legitimate technical issues. Parks reiterated that the aid was always intended for hurricane relief, and the presence of the vice president did not alter their operations.
However, the damage may already be done. The rapid spread of the podcast clip across social media has contributed to a growing perception among some that Harris’ visit was more about optics than substance. As both sides continue to push competing narratives, the truth of what happened during the vice president’s visit remains a point of contention.
The controversy over the C-17 aid plane underscores the highly politicized nature of disaster relief in today’s polarized environment. With Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Ron DeSantis locked in a public spat over their respective responses to the hurricanes, even seemingly routine aspects of relief efforts are now being scrutinized for potential political motivations. Whether the aid plane incident will fade from public attention or continue to fuel partisan debates remains to be seen.
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