In an intense political atmosphere where the focus is on the devastating effects of hurricanes “Helene” and “Milton” causing casualties and economic losses in the United States, these two storms have inevitably become hot political issues. With the 2024 U.S. presidential election entering its final stages, both presidential candidates, Trump and Harris, have been accusing each other of mismanagement or erroneous statements, making these natural disasters a potential disruptor in the “hurricane politics” shaping the election.
Over the past two weeks, the unexpected arrival of these two hurricanes in the U.S. has disrupted the fierce competition of the election, forcing people to question: who as president is best equipped to handle such deadly natural disasters? This once overlooked question has become a crucial political focal point in the weeks leading up to the November 5th election.
Vice President Harris, as the Democratic presidential candidate, is trying to leverage this opportunity to showcase leadership, appearing in press conferences alongside President Biden and calling for bipartisan cooperation. Former President Trump, on the other hand, is attempting to use this opportunity to attack the Biden-Harris administration’s lack of ability.
The “Congress Hill News” stated that any major mistakes made by the federal government in hurricane response could provoke widespread anger towards the Biden-Harris government. If Harris is seen as exaggerating her role in disaster response, it could backfire on her. Similarly, if Trump’s accusations against the Biden-Harris government are deemed excessive, it could lead to a backlash against him.
Currently, aside from Harris engaging in a war of words with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, President Biden has also joined in the verbal sparring against Trump. Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are accusing the Biden-Harris government of not providing enough funding for disaster relief.
With Vice President Harris emerging as the Democratic presidential candidate for 2024, competing against former President Trump for the White House, her popularity has been on the rise over the past month. The fierce competition between them in battleground states could determine the ultimate winner in November.
As the White House assists in responding to Hurricane “Helene” hitting Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, Harris has taken on a more active role. After Hurricane “Helene” made landfall in Florida on the night of September 26th, Harris cut short her campaign activities in California and returned to Washington DC on September 30th. Subsequently, she visited Georgia and North Carolina on October 3rd and 5th respectively to assess the latest post-disaster recovery efforts.
However, before the second hurricane, “Milton,” was set to land in Florida on October 7th, Harris accused Florida Governor DeSantis of not answering her calls to discuss disaster relief efforts for Hurricanes “Helene” and “Milton.” DeSantis, in turn, pushed back against Harris, sparking a war of words between them.
The latest development in this verbal war is CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin questioning DeSantis on his communication with Harris on the morning of October 10th.
DeSantis responded by stating that he is collaborating with President Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. He added that he had worked directly with the President during previous hurricane and storm response efforts.
DeSantis told CNBC, “I don’t even know if she (Harris) wanted to contact me, she had no role in this process. Throughout all the storms I’ve experienced under the leadership of the President (Biden), she never called Florida. She never offered any support.”
“So what she’s doing is trying to insert herself into this for her political campaign. As the governor here, leading everything here, I don’t have time for these games. I don’t care about her campaign. Clearly, I’m not her supporter,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis and Biden spoke on October 7th. Biden pledged that Florida would receive all necessary federal support.
After Hurricane “Milton” made landfall in Florida on the evening of October 9th, Biden and DeSantis spoke again earlier on October 10th. The White House disclosed that DeSantis thanked Biden for the extensive federal support in preparation and response to the storm, with FEMA Administrator Criswell also participating in the call.
Reports claim that after DeSantis refused to take Harris’s calls, Harris accused DeSantis on the 7th of playing political games and being selfish, to which DeSantis responded that Harris’s claims were delusions.
During an interview with FOX News on October 8th, DeSantis mentioned Harris’s campaigning tactics, criticizing her attempt to “inject herself into” federal disaster response efforts.
He told “Fox & Friends,” “Since she’s been vice president all the way until now, she’s never called during any of the storms we’ve had. Now all of a sudden she’s trying to parachute in and project herself onto something that she’s never shown any interest in. We know this is because of politics. We know this is because of her campaign.”
On the evening of the 9th, when questioned at the White House about whether DeSantis should take Harris’s calls, Biden sidestepped the issue but emphasized that he has communicated well with DeSantis.
Biden responded, saying, “I can tell you I’ve talked to Governor DeSantis. He’s been very cordial. He’s appreciative of what we’re doing. He knows what we’re doing, and I think that’s important.”
When Harris visited areas in Georgia impacted by Hurricane “Helene” last week, she announced that FEMA would provide $750 to individuals in immediate need due to the destruction caused by “Helene”.
Trump criticized Harris for only providing $750 in aid to hurricane victims and emphasized that Harris was using “all her FEMA money” to provide housing for illegal immigrants, leading to a shortage of FEMA disaster relief funds for hurricanes.
Furthermore, Trump questioned whether the Biden-Harris administration was refusing to provide assistance to Republican territories, accusing that after Hurricane “Helene”, North Carolina did not have helicopters to rescue stranded victims.
Trump visited Georgia to survey the disaster site after Hurricane “Helene” on September 30th. On October 10th, he gave a speech at the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan, expressing sympathy for those affected by Hurricanes “Helene” and “Milton,” while criticizing the inadequate response of the Biden-Harris government, especially in North Carolina following Hurricane “Helene”.
The mountainous region of North Carolina was left without power, mobile service, and road traffic for an extended period. Trump said, “They’ve exposed these people to unfair suffering.”
Michigan is a crucial swing state in the election, where Trump is mainly hoping to attract blue-collar voters, while strongly criticizing the Democratic-led Detroit as a “mess”.
Referring to Harris, Trump said, “If she’s your president, the entire country will end up like Detroit. Your hands will be a mess. It will be a disaster.”
During a large campaign rally in Juneau, Wisconsin on October 5th, Trump also criticized the Biden-Harris government’s response to Hurricane “Helene,” comparing it unfavorably to the George W. Bush administration’s handling of Hurricane “Katrina” in 2005, stating, “This hurricane is very severe, and Harris is keeping people in trouble. This is the worst response we’ve seen to a storm, disaster, or hurricane. Possibly worse than Hurricane ‘Katrina’.”
Regarding the strategic thinking in responding to hurricane disasters emphasized by Trump’s campaign team, Trump’s campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt argued that it reflected the “failed leadership” model of the Biden-Harris government, including their withdrawal from Afghanistan and border security issues in the Southern United States.
Leavitt said, “Harris is leaving Americans behind, proving she’s incapable of handling the highest-level crises.”
FEMA Administrator Criswell stated on October 10th that the impact of Hurricane “Milton” was not as destructively severe as feared, but she would visit the tornado-damaged areas of the Florida landing site caused by “Milton” before the 11th.
During a press conference in Sarasota, Florida, Criswell said, “We did not experience the extreme impacts of the worst-case scenario we had prepared for, but there are still many people affected.”
Criswell noted that 38 tornadoes that made landfall in Florida caused “severe damage, at an extent of tornadoes Florida had never seen before.”
She also inspected flooded roads and debris from the aftermath of Hurricane “Helene.”
Hurricane “Milton” has resulted in at least 16 deaths and millions of power outages, whereas “Helene” caused over 230 deaths. In 2005, Hurricane “Katrina” led to nearly 1,400 deaths, criticizing the Bush administration extensively at that time.
President Biden and Vice President Harris accused Trump’s statements regarding hurricanes as “false statements,” with both launching counterattacks against Trump.
On October 10th, Biden criticized Trump during a speech at the White House regarding Hurricane “Milton,” stating, “Mr. Trump, ex-President Trump, just live well, buddy, help these people.”
Responding to Trump’s claim that those affected by the storms would only receive $750 in government aid, Biden retaliated, saying, “Mr. Trump and everybody else know—what they’re saying about $750 being all the assistance people can get—that’s a lie. It’s weird. It’s weird. You have to stop that. I mean, the way they talk about these things is just un-American.”
Biden stated that “the public will hold [Trump] accountable,” and the media will as well because “you know the truth.”
During a speech at the White House on the 9th, Biden countered Trump’s claim about FEMA federal disaster funds being diverted to assist illegal immigrants, stating, “What are they talking about? Stop it, it’s outrageous, it’s not true.”
Biden also criticized, “Over the last few weeks, people promoting misinformation and outright falsehoods recklessly, irresponsibly, and in an unkind way about things that are happening right now.”
“This undermines the confidence of the people of Florida and the confidence in the incredible rescue and recovery efforts already underway.”
“That’s harmful to those who need help the most. Frankly, these lies are un-American. There’s no place for them here, now, never is,” Biden added.
On October 10th, Harris attended a town hall sponsored by Univision in Las Vegas, where she addressed complaints about federal officials mishandling disaster recovery efforts, stating, “In this crisis—as with many issues affecting our nation’s people—I think it’s important for leadership to recognize the dignity people are entitled to.”
Harris also emphasized, “I must underscore that this is not a time for politics.”
Regarding Trump’s criticism of Detroit, Harris responded, “he went to Detroit and trashed another great American city, that’s just another evidence of why he is not fit to be the President of the United States.”
Harris also called CNN on the 9th to discuss the situation as Hurricane “Milton” approached Florida and simultaneously criticized Trump’s comments regarding the federal government’s response to the storms.
She told CNN host Dana Bash, “Frankly, anyone who considers themselves a leader will mislead desperate people to the point that these desperate people can’t get the assistance they deserve, that’s dangerous, that’s unreasonable.”
“We all know this is dangerous; this tactic must stop. At some point, politics must end, especially in moments of crisis.”
Harris further added, “The last thing they should get is for a so-called leader to make them feel more afraid than they already are. ”
When asked if Congress should return to Washington DC to pass more disaster relief funding, Harris responded, “FEMA has what they need right now.”
In a poll released by “Congress Hill News” and Emerson College on October 10th, Trump led Harris by 1 percentage point in both Georgia and North Carolina, states with a combined total of 32 electoral votes, two of the seven battleground states that will decide the final outcome of the election this year.
The damage caused by Hurricane “Helene” in these two states could have unpredictable political implications on the election. Among the 230+ deaths caused by “Helene,” over a hundred occurred in North Carolina and over thirty in Georgia.
Federal disaster relief funding has also become a crucial issue in this “hurricane politics,” with both parties accusing each other of failing to provide sufficient funding to the hard-hit areas of Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. Congressional Republicans are demanding an emergency meeting to approve billions more in relief funds.
North Carolina Republican Senator Ted Budd criticized the federal government’s response to the hurricane as “unprepared.” Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott complained that if Florida and North Carolina were renamed “Lebanon” and “Ukraine,” they would receive assistance more promptly.
Scott, Budd, and other Republican senators, including Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, signed a bipartisan letter last week urging Senate leaders to consider reconvening senators this month to ensure the passage of “legislation by the end of the year to ensure we have enough time to issue [new disaster relief].”
Several Democratic senators, including Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia, and Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia, also signed the letter.
Meanwhile, Democrats complained that they originally hoped to increase federal disaster relief funding by several billion dollars on top of the short-term government funding measure passed at the end of September but were blocked by conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives, insisting on a “simple” continuing resolution (CR).
A Democratic aide told “Congress Hill News,” “Democrats wanted to increase disaster relief funding in the emergency supplemental bill. House Republicans wanted a CR bill as clean as possible.”
House Republicans strongly contested this viewpoint, alleging that the CR bill included new authorizations which would allow the Biden administration to rapidly spend an extra $20 billion for disaster relief, which should meet national needs by mid-December.
A Republican aide commented on the description of House Republicans supporting a “simple” CR bill, saying, “We strongly object to that depiction of the negotiations over this bill.”
The Republican aide stated, “We continue to emphasize that hurricane relief cannot be politicized. Since Congress has already authorized appropriations, we continue to urge the Biden administration to provide resources promptly to affected communities.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sounded the alarm on October 2nd, saying, “FEMA didn’t have sufficient funds to get through this season and what’s to come.”
However, Mayorkas changed his tone on October 7th, stating in an MSNBC interview, “Everyone should have confidence in FEMA having the resources they need.”
Currently, top government officials and congressional leaders from both parties believe that the $20 billion rapid spending authorization approved by Congress last month should provide funding for federal disaster operations until lawmakers reconvene in Washington DC after Election Day to pass new legislation.
However, both Democratic and Republican congressional aides acknowledge that it is impossible to know precisely how long this money will last, as policymakers and disaster officials have not seen the full extent of the losses “Milton” will inflict in Florida and neighboring states.
If federal funds run short, FEMA may have to cut back on some non-emergency project expenditures to use them in “urgently needed locations,” necessitating a reassessment of its priority rescue operations.