Staff Reports
Hurricane Helene has become the unexpected villain in the political landscape, creating a conundrum for Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump as they navigate the muddy waters of campaigning amid disaster relief. With the storm leaving more than 100 people dead and 2 million without power across crucial battleground states like Georgia and North Carolina, these two political titans find that their plans have been tossed aside—along with many of the region’s roofs.
Trump’s battle plan was disrupted as he had to cancel a visit to Georgia to assess the damage and distribute aid after wrapping up a campaign event in Pennsylvania. While it may be tempting to label this as a missed opportunity for Trump, he’s not one to shy away from the headlines. Over the weekend, he took a swing at Harris for her seemingly opportunistic fundraising jaunt on the West Coast, where she managed to rake in an astonishing $55 million while the Southeast was reeling from disaster. However, in a rare act of restraint, Trump chose not to be overly critical while on the ground in Georgia, instead emphasizing the need for federal assistance to address the catastrophe.
#NSTworld Harris, Trump 2024 campaigns interrupted by Hurricane Helenehttps://t.co/gZBNDx7grz
— New Straits Times (@NST_Online) October 1, 2024
The Biden administration, meanwhile, is taking its sweet time in arranging visits to the affected states. Harris was busy back in D.C. while trying to juggle calls with local officials and attending an operational briefing at FEMA headquarters, seemingly more concerned with formalities than with firsthand experience of the repercussions of the storm. Reports have indicated that she even fumbled in avoiding questions from the press—likely the outcome of having to dodge blame for the administration’s delayed response.
On the President’s end, Biden wasn’t shy about making his voice heard. He delivered speeches not once, but twice from the White House, reiterating the federal government’s commitment to assisting the regions battered by Helene. Claiming thousands of federal personnel are already “deployed” for recovery efforts, Biden assured Americans that FEMA is doing all it can in the wake of the devastation. His commitment to eventually visit North Carolina and Georgia raises questions about his timing, which seems rather strategic considering that these are election-year battlegrounds.
It’s worth remembering how natural disasters tend to mess up a politician’s game. Historical evidence shows that responses—or lack thereof—can significantly impact election outcomes. Just look at the disaster that was George W. Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina, or how Chris Christie’s fateful handshake with Barack Obama after Hurricane Sandy lost him ground among his own party. And while Harris and Trump may be pretending not to engage in political attacks for now, both camps already have their spin machines running at full throttle.
As the storm recovery efforts hit the fan, Trump’s camp wasted no time in putting pressure on Harris and Biden for their absence in the affected areas. The Trump organization even went so far as to suggest that Biden is withholding aid from the stricken states—a charge that met vehement denial from the President and some governors. Meanwhile, Harris’s supporters took shots at Trump for his previous feuds with territories affected by hurricanes, conveniently ignoring the unfolding narrative that their administration has had a cheerful lack of urgency in response to Helene’s aftermath.
With absentee ballots already up for grabs in North Carolina and the pressure of early voting looming on the horizon, the stakes are higher than ever. If the storm’s impact on voting infrastructure plays out unfavorably, one can only imagine how swiftly the blame game will escalate in this election year—because in the world of politics, when it rains, it pours.
