Hurricane Helene Turns Political: Election News You Missed Today

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump focused their attention Monday on the recovery from Hurricane Helene that devastated parts of the Southeastern U.S.
Election Day is just over five weeks away and Monday brought new challenges for both Harris and Trump as the two candidates remain locked in a tight race in battleground states.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm before slamming into large swathes of the Southeast last week, leaving a trail of devastation in its path over parts of Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. Meanwhile, across the globe, simmering tensions in the Middle East threaten a last-minute turn in a race where foreign policy has taken center.
Here are the stories you may have missed on Monday.
Georgia and North Carolina, two of the most important battleground states in the presidential race, were devasted by Hurricane Helene.
At least 116 people were killed in the storms, with about 600 others unaccounted for. Floods washed away entire towns in the Western parts of North Carolina, with residents of the Asheville area being left without power and communication.
The storm has passed, but the recovery could take years, officials said. The Biden administration’s response to the hurricane will be under a microscope—and could pose a crucial test to Harris’ leadership abilities in the coming weeks.
During a visit to Valdosta, Georgia, Trump sought to avoid talking politics. While he acknowledged that the storm struck with the backdrop of a heated president race, he said “none of that matters” during a time when “our fellow citizens cry out in need.”
But on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump took on a different tone, taking aim at President Joe Biden and Harris’ handling of the crisis. Harris has “no clue what she is doing,” he wrote in a post accusing Harris of staging a photo posted to X showing her on the phone with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEFMA) Director Deanne Criswell.
“Biden and Harris abandoned Americans in Afghanistan. They sacrificed Americans to an Open Border, and now, they have left Americans to drown in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and elsewhere in the South,” he wrote. His campaign has also accused Biden of “sleeping” at his beach house at the storm hit.
Harris and Biden opted not to visit Georgia and North Carolina on Monday amid concerns that a visit would divert resources away from recovery efforts bringing clean water, food and other necessities to communities hit hardest by Hurricane Helene.
CNN reported that a White House spokesperson said Harris will visit areas hit by the hurricane as soon as it is possible to do so without diverting resources away from emergency response operations. She has been briefed by Criswell on the federal government’s response.
Meanwhile, Biden pledged that his administration would not leave those impacted by the storm “until the job is done,” adding that he has not visited yet to avoid being “disruptive” to emergency recovery efforts during remarks to reporters Monday morning.
He said he has “no idea” if it is disruptive for Trump to visit Georgia.
Harris critics have pressured her to visit the states hit hardest by the hurricane. Politicians generally try to visit areas hit by natural disasters. Their success in handling the crisis can be crucial to their reputation as leaders and legacy.
In 2012, for instance, former President Barack Obama visited areas hit by Hurricane Sandy in the 48 hours after the storm hit. Meanwhile, former President George W. Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina became a long-standing point of criticism against him.
Escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon could again thrust foreign policy to the center of the campaign.
On Monday, Israeli commandos reportedly conducted special forces raids in Lebanon against Hezbollah targets, as Israel is reportedly preparing for a limited ground operation in Lebanon, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing an unnamed U.S. official. It comes after recent strikes against Lebanon and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The U.S. will be sending an additional “few thousand” troops to the Middle East to be prepared to defend Israel, the Pentagon announced on Monday.
Harris and Trump have both cast themselves as supporters of Israel, but Harris has also voiced concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has already launched a ground offensive that has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, the Associated Press reported, citing the Hama-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
Harris is walking a fine line on Israel policy to win over support from pro-Israel voters and moderate Republicans dissatisfied with Trump, while also appeasing more progressive voters who support a ceasefire of the conflict in Gaza.
If conflict between Israel and Lebanon escalates, it would threaten to create a new headache for Harris, who has sought to improve upon Biden’s weak standing with young, progressive voters. Her balance is especially important in Michigan, home to a higher number of Muslim and Arab Americans than other battlegrounds.
Biden for his part told reporters he is “more worried than you might know” when asked if he is comfortable with the operation.
“I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now,” Biden said.
With regards to domestic policy, Harris backed the legalization of marijuana during an interview on the “All the Smoke” podcast, a popular basketball podcast hosted by former NBA stars Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes.
“I just feel strongly that people should not be going to jail for smoking weed. We know historically what that has meant and who has gone to jail. Second, I just think we have come to a point where we have to understand that we need to legalize it and stop criminalizing this behavior,” Harris said.
Marijuana legalization has long been a tenet of progressive politics, as supporters argue the criminalization of marijuana, which they believe to be less dangerous and addictive than other drugs, has disproportionately affected Black Americans and perpetuated a system of racial inequality.
The podcast appearance comes as Harris tries to hold onto strong margins among younger Black men, a historically Democratic-leaning group that polls suggest may be shifting to Trump. Even a small shift in states like Michigan or Pennsylvania could be critical due to the close nature of the race.
She has done fewer interviews with traditional news outlets throughout the campaign, instead focusing her sights on interviews with smaller, more local or nontraditional media outlets. Some people, both critics and supporters, believe she should do more interviews, and some polls suggest Americans want to see more of the vice president before the November election.
Harris also discussed her racial identity and family during the podcast, describing herself as “thick as thieves” with her stepchildren, Ella and Cole Emhoff.