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How Hurricane Helene's damage collides with the 2024 presidential election

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How Hurricane Helene's damage collides with the 2024 presidential election

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This story has been updated to add new information.

WASHINGTON – The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene collided with the politics of the 2024 presidential campaign on Monday, as former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to show they were in control of the situation.

The pace, quality and disputes over federal aid could impact elections in the battleground states of North Carolina and Georgia, both hit by flooding.

Trump visited Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday, where he was briefed on the hurricane's devastation. Trump said he brought trucks full of relief supplies to Georgia.

“We’re not talking politics right now,” Trump told reporters near a destroyed store in the town north of the Florida border, but later added: “We need some help from the federal government.”

More: Biden on the Helene disaster: “We’re not leaving until the job is done”

At a campaign rally on Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump accused President Joe Biden of “sleeping right now” while the president spent the weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He mocked Harris for attending a fundraiser in San Francisco on Saturday “with her radical left-wing crazy donors” while much of our country was being devastated by this massive hurricane.

During his visit to Valdosta, Trump falsely claimed that Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp – who did not show up to the event – had been unable to reach Biden about the relief effort. But Kemp himself recounted a conversation he had with Biden the day before in which the president asked the governor, “'Hey, what do you need?'”

Biden “offered to just call him directly if we needed any other things, which I really appreciated,” Kemp said.

More: Toddler is airlifted as the aftermath of Hurricane Helene devastates North Carolina

Vice President Harris will visit Helene-Schaden “as soon as possible.”

Harris, who held a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, canceled other campaign stops on the West Coast and returned to Washington on Monday for a briefing at FEMA headquarters. Harris spoke Sunday with Kemp, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“I told them we will do everything we can to help communities respond and recover,” Harris said. “And I let them know that I plan to be there as soon as possible.”

Harris said she wanted to wait to ensure her visit would not disrupt emergency response efforts. Biden said he would travel to North Carolina on Wednesday.

More: Hard-hit areas struggle after Helene; at least 100 dead: live updates

At least 100 people have been killed and more than 2 million are without power in parts of western North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and Virginia. Atlanta received a total of more than 11 inches of rain in 48 hours, breaking a record that had stood for nearly 150 years. Western North Carolina was hit hardest by the devastating rains, with some areas recording more than 30 inches.

In Buncombe County, North Carolina, which includes devastated Asheville, the rubble was overwhelming.

“We have biblical devastation throughout the county. We had biblical floods here,” said Ryan Cole, deputy director of Buncombe County Emergency Services.

More: Toddler is airlifted from flooded North Carolina as National Guard and FEMA reach communities

Biden, like Harris, said he held off on an earlier visit to North Carolina to ensure his presence would not be disruptive.

Biden said he spoke Sunday with Cooper, Kemp and officials from Florida, Tennessee and other states affected by the storm, calling it “not just a catastrophic storm” but a “historic storm.” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is on site in Asheville, North Carolina.

“I want you to know that we are not leaving until the job is done,” Biden said in a statement from the White House, adding that 3,600 federal workers had been deployed to the Southeast to assist in rescue efforts and clearing debris to help.

In addition to FEMA personnel, this includes members of the National Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Communications Commission employees helping to restore communications capability, and Department of Defense officials.

More: North Carolina town comes together after Helene wreaks havoc: 'This is what we do'

Biden defends his withdrawal from Washington over the weekend

White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall said before Hurricane Helene's landfall that FEMA had focused the “pre-positioning” of search and rescue teams, temporary energy teams and generators on the Big Bend region of Florida, where officials were focusing prepared for the brunt of the storm.

But western North Carolina and other parts of the Appalachian Mountains – far from the Gulf Coast – were hit hardest by the flooding.

“Mother Nature has a mind of her own,” Sherwood-Randall said. “As good as our technologies are, as good as our National Hurricane Center is, it’s just a forecast. And when a storm hits, we have to adapt and respond in real time.”

She said FEMA in North Carolina is currently prioritizing clearing roads and removing debris, restoring communications and power, and ensuring health care, food and water in communities most in need.

More: “Deep frustration” over ongoing cell phone outages after Hurricane Helene made landfall

FEMA officials said the agency had 10 search and rescue teams on site, another nine on the way and more than 900 personnel working in the region. FEMA is installing 30 Starlink receivers in western North Carolina to provide internet connectivity.

“We know there is more to do. “We will continue to provide resources, including food, water, communications and life-saving equipment,” Biden said.

Biden bristled at a reporter's question about criticism that he should have remained in Washington over the weekend to command the hurricane response.

“I commanded. “I spoke on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before,” Biden said. “It’s called a telephone.”

Asked whether Trump's visit to Georgia represented a disruption to recovery efforts, Biden said: “I have no idea.”

Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.

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