As president, Donald Trump was accused of a lack of involvement in hurricane disasters. Now he is trying to do the same thing in the election campaign. But even Republicans disagree.
There are images that stick: When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, President Donald Trump came to the rescue – and threw packs of kitchen paper to the desperate victims. At the same time, he withheld billions in disaster funds. Shortly before the US election in November, he is now trying to take advantage of the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene. But he did the math without Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
He didn’t leave them in good stead during his visit to the disaster area in Georgia. Biden was “sleeping,” Trump complained to reporters. Instead of being on site, Biden and Vice President Harris would have been on the road. “She’s trying to collect money,” Trump complained about his opponent. Republican Governor Brian Kemp “did a very good job. But he tried to call the president and he couldn’t be reached,” Trump tried to accuse Biden and his administration of a lack of commitment.
Governor disagrees with Donald Trump
Trump ignores Kemp himself. Biden reported personally, the Republican reported. “The president called me yesterday afternoon and simply asked: ‘What do you need?’ And I told him that we currently have everything and are enlisting the support of the federal authorities,” Kemp said a few hours before Trump’s visit. “He offered to call him directly if we needed further support. I really appreciate that.” Kemp said she had already spoken to Harris several times. The vice president and candidate for president returned to Washington early on Sunday from a campaign tour in Nevada to coordinate the response to the storm’s aftermath .
When asked by reporters about Trump’s claims, Biden reacted visibly angrily. “He’s lying and the governor told him he’s lying,” he replied, noticeably upset. “I don’t know why he’s doing this. But it’s really irresponsible.” Both Harris and Biden emphasized that they want to assess the situation on site – but only when their visit does not pose an additional burden. “I was told that we would disrupt operations on site if we went there,” Biden said, explaining his absence so far. “We will be there when that is no longer the case.”
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Disaster relief as an election campaign
As in Germany, environmental disasters and the response to them can also be decisive for the election in the USA. The fact that Hurricane Helene is now raging across the East Coast at the height of the US election could tip the scales in important swing states like Georgia. However, Biden and thus also Harris could benefit less from the preparatory work of the last few years than the direct reaction. After the Trump administration underfunded the FEMA agency responsible for natural disasters, its coffers have recently been well filled again. Last week alone, Congress passed a $20 billion package. The authority was on site preparing days before the storm hit the coast, Kemp confirmed.
Trump, however, was apparently primarily concerned with the staging. During his visit to the site, he had a tanker with gasoline and a van with water cans with him. “We have many, many transporters with resources,” he claimed, without elaborating. Biden and Harris, on the other hand, would politicize the catastrophe. “You are deliberately discriminating against Republican areas,” Trump complained. When asked how he came up with this, he preferred to remain vague. “Just look around,” he replied to an NBC reporter. Then he ended the question and answer session.
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
