If hurricane damage recovery drags on in North Carolina and Georgia, it could have a bearing on the election results in the Libra states.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has smelled a vulnerability, which by hinting and lying he now tries to undermine his opponent Terrible Harris.
It’s about the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Hurricane Helene, which wiped out the southeastern states of the United States a week ago, has proven to be the deadliest in the continental United States since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
More than two hundred have died, hundreds are still unreached and more than a million households are without electricity.
The worst affected by the storm were North Carolina and Georgia, which are among the swing states that decide the election.
This week, Trump began repeating the message at his campaign events that the administration has failed in the aftermath of the hurricane. He also claims without a shred of evidence that money earmarked for hurricane victims is used for immigrants.
Trump makes his argument in the video below.
The White House called Trump’s speech “poison” in its memo.
Trump has also claimed that the governors of states affected by storm damage have not received a response to their requests for help and the president Joe Biden wouldn’t have taken their calls.
Republican governor of Georgia Brian Kemp has said that Trump’s claim is not true.
Governor of North Carolina Roy Cooper on the other hand, has said that the federal government has already brought in six billion dollars for, among other things, repairing huge infrastructure damages.
My own administration was guilty of cheating on hurricane aid
The federal government has so far paid all rescue and cleanup costs through FEMA, and plans to pay for months to come.
On Friday, Joe Biden also asked Congress to pass a law on a loan program to ease the plight of small businesses in devastated areas as they try to restart their operations.
Biden himself has hinted that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has blocked emergency aid.
During his term of office, Trump himself was guilty of diverting disaster aid after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017.
After that, Trump directed tens of millions of dollars in disaster funds to border security.
October’s surprise can blow
There may still be an election surprise in the storm damage in North Carolina and Georgia if the repair of the damage is delayed. It is still unclear which candidate would benefit from the surprise.
In the US elections, there is always talk of the so-called October surprise. It means an issue that comes at the last drop and whose influence on the vote cannot be eliminated.
In both states, decisions need to be made quickly on how people can continue to register to vote. Also, polling stations may not be able to be arranged in the intended locations due to the destruction of roads and buildings, while voters are temporarily living far away from their homes.
For example, North Carolina is currently mailing ballot letters to voters who may never receive them.
At this time, the outcome of North Carolina and Georgia is difficult to predict. In many measurements, Donald Trump and Horrible Harris the difference in support is within a percentage point.
Politico magazine according to this is the first time that two equatorial states are confronted by a natural disaster. The worst losses are in counties led by Republicans.
So it’s no wonder that both candidates and President Biden now want to visit the disaster area. Trump was there on Friday and Harris will be there on Saturday.
AP, Reuters