The intense political conflict surrounding Hurricane Milton didn't delay its onset until the storm's arrival.
A potentially catastrophic event of such magnitude, alleged to be a colossal climate change consequence that scientists have long forewarned, ought to be exempt from political exploitation.
However, in the late stages of a presidential election starring a relentless candidate like Donald Trump, no topic remains untouched by partisanship. This disorderly scenario might serve as the next stage for Trump's deluge of misinformation blitz.
Hurricane-induced political upheavals typically unfold after the storm has passed. This instance is distinctive, in part due to Trump's deliberate attempt to exploit Hurricane Helene for his electoral advantages, leading to an early onslaught of confrontations.
For Vice President Kamala Harris, the impending storm casts a precarious limelight, which could serve as an opportunity to demonstrate her capability to seize media moments in a presidential context. It could also showcase her capacity to express compassion towards the victims and her control over the federal government's infrastructure. Nonetheless, any failure in the federal rescue and relief mission following the storm's landfall on late Wednesday or early Thursday could taint her image prior to the election subsequent month. Harris' challenge will be further complicated by the possibility that even a flawless federal effort would encounter fabricated narratives attributing failure to her by Trump.
This is the reason behind the Democratic nominee's initiative to preempt Trump and the storm by informing reporters on Monday evening that Trump was propagating misinformation regarding federal aid. “It’s about him, not you.” Harris reaffirmed her stance on Tuesday, telling ABC’s “The View” that “this isn't an issue of party politics for some leaders, but perhaps for others.”
Government officials supported the vice president's message on Tuesday. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell cautioned on “CNN News Central” that Trump's rhetoric was spreading fear among people about the government's unwillingness to aid them. Even the White House ventured into Reddit, a social media network, to detect and counteract misinformation.
President Joe Biden may be confronting the final major national emergency of his term. As a matter of urgency, Biden postponed his trip to Germany and Angola on Tuesday, considering no president can afford to be abroad during a national emergency. Biden's initial task is to fulfill his core presidential duty – maintaining the safety of Americans. However, with his foreign policy legacy clouded by unresolved conflicts in the Middle East, he probably wishes to sidestep a domestic controversy that would also overshadow his final days in office and potentially harm his potential successor, Harris.
A storm of such magnitude could sway Trump's political fortunes
Trump has repeatedly demonstrated a disposition to manipulate any situation for political advantages. He made use of Hurricane Helene to amplify his narrative depicting the Biden-Harris administration as a fumbling cabal incapable of addressing the fundamental needs of American citizens. It follows a similar pattern as he has implicated Harris in a national crisis that he claims is characterized by crime and rampant immigration, and is on a collision course with World War III. Trump's argument is an oversimplification. While the country faces several issues – stubbornly high food prices and an overwhelmed asylum system – he is deliberately constructing a fictional narrative to his followers and the conservative media echo chamber.
Trump repeated the same tactics during his Hurricane Helene public relations campaign, falsely accusing Democrats of disregarding Republican areas. Trump incorrectly claimed that Biden was disregarding calls from Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp. He also asserted, falsely, that Harris had bankrupt the Federal Emergency Management Agency budget to accommodate undocumented migrants and hence could not help storm victims. Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, misled the public by claiming that the federal government provided only $750 in aid to citizens who had lost their homes. Some of Trump's claims were debunked by Republican leaders in Georgia and Tennessee. However, from Trump's perspective, the truth is irrelevant. Every manipulative communication serves to gain support among voters who might be unaware of the intricacies of the federal relief effort but may have an unfavorable impression of Harris.
Trump maintains that both Harris and Biden are incompetent and unfit for the presidentship. He denies Democratic allegations that he is exploiting hurricane season for political purposes, justifying any intervention as political. “Whatever I do, they'll say it's about politics,” the ex-president stated on Fox on Monday, dismissing such concerns. “If I do something good, they'll say, he did it for politics. I mean, they could have gotten there before me.” Trump's own mismanagement during hurricane situations might come back to haunt him.
The Harris campaign, on Monday, attempted to revive recollections of Trump's troubled disaster management record, issuing an advertisement featuring two former Trump administration officials, Olivia Troye and Kevin Carroll, claiming that Trump once withheld disaster relief funds from Democratic states.
Furthermore, Harris used the impending storm as an opportunity to challenge Trump's integrity and bolster her argument that he's a "non-serious figure" presenting a threat if he wins again. On ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday, she accused him of prioritizing himself over the needs of others. Harris added: “I fear that he lacks empathy on a very basic level to care about the suffering of other people and then understand the role of a leader is not to beat people down, but to lift people up especially in times of crisis.”
This is yet another indication of Trump's advantage over Harris, despite possessing his own presidential record to defend, as a non-incumbent, he possesses the freedom to criticize the administration's performance without bearing any personal responsibility.
Electoral landscapes are shaped by the recollections of two calamities. The blundered response to Hurricane Katrina, which battered New Orleans and the Gulf coast in 2005, contributed to President George W. Bush's struggling second term. On the other hand, President Barack Obama's more competent handling of Superstorm Sandy, which hit the East Coast in 2012, helped him outshine Republican challenger Mitt Romney during that election. Sandy is often associated with then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's embrace of Obama in pursuit of maximum federal assistance for his state, an act that irked many Republicans. Christie's subsequent GOP presidential campaigns were tainted by his choice to prioritize duty over politics.
A prominent political figure who seems unlikely to choose the same path is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who may harbor aspirations for higher office following his unsuccessful 2024 Republican nomination bid. DeSantis finds himself in a situation akin to Christie's - the need to collaborate effectively with a Democratic administration for the benefit of his state, despite his distaste for the president and vice president. His political future might not survive a failed relief effort any better than Harris' could. DeSantis had been engaging in hurricane politics well before Milton's arrival. According to a White House official, he had dismissed her calls about the hurricane, a claim he denied, but which didn't shield him from criticism from the vice president.
DeSantis embarked on a political journey requiring interaction with Biden, who is now a lame duck, without aiding Harris in a way that could provoke Trump's wrath. "She is being selfish by trying to blunder into this when we're doing just fine," DeSantis criticized Harris on Monday evening. "I've faced storms under both Presidents Trump and Biden, and I've worked amicably with both of them. She's the first one who's trying to politicize the storm, and she's doing that merely because of her campaign. She's trying to gain some sort of advantage," DeSantis grumbled, a Florida Republican.
Unlike Harris, Biden offered DeSantis more complimentary remarks, praising him as "cooperative" on Tuesday.
"I said no, 'You're doing a great job, everything's being done well, we thank you for it,'" Biden stated.
However, the president also took preventive measures against any future accusations that DeSantis didn't receive what he required from the White House. "I literally gave him my personal phone number to call," Biden added.
In light of the storm's potential impact on the election, Trump saw an opportunity to exploit the situation for political gain, using Hurricane Helene to further his narrative of the Biden-Harris administration's incompetence.
During a hurricane, politics should take a backseat to ensuring the safety and well-being of citizens. However, the politicization of such events by figures like Trump can lead to misinformation and confusion, causing further distress to those affected by the disaster.
