Former President Trump’s campaign team announced that he will visit Georgia on Monday (September 30th) to receive a report on the damages caused by Hurricane “Helen”.
Trump is expected to visit a furniture store in Valdosta that was destroyed during the storm. The campaign team stated that Trump is planning to meet with local officials to assist in distributing relief supplies and deliver a speech. Georgia is a key swing state in the November election and one that Trump narrowly lost in 2020.
Over the weekend, the former president held campaign rallies in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, two crucial battleground states.
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris has shortened her campaign itinerary on the West Coast and will be returning to Washington D.C. on Monday to receive briefings on the storm at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters.
On Sunday, she had discussions with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (Democrat) about the storm’s aftermath and reached out to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Republican) and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (Republican).
White House officials indicated that once conditions allow and it does not strain emergency services, Harris is expected to visit the affected areas.
Harris visited Arizona last weekend and held fundraising events in California, followed by a rally in Nevada on Sunday night.
President Biden has also been in contact with local officials from North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The federal government has deployed thousands of personnel to assist in providing resources and coordinating storm response.
On Thursday (September 26th), Hurricane “Helen” made landfall in the southeastern United States, causing devastating winds and heavy rains leading to severe loss of life and property. Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and other states have declared states of emergency.
Economic losses from the hurricane are estimated to reach billions of dollars, with at least 91 fatalities reported so far, making it one of the deadliest storms in modern American history.