Successive hurricanes are sweeping onto the stage of U.S. politics. According to information from the U.S. Meteorological Department, Hurricane “Milton” made landfall on the central west coast of Florida on the evening of the 9th local time, with tornadoes spawned by the hurricane causing multiple deaths in the state. In response to another hurricane following “Helen”, former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the Biden-Harris administration for inadequate response, while President Biden accused Trump of leading a “campaign of lies” about the hurricanes.
According to a latest report from The Washington Post on the 9th, President Biden issued a warning from the White House regarding the response to Hurricane Milton. He urged Floridians to heed local government advice and prepare for the “storm of the century,” while also criticizing the spread of misinformation.
Biden stated, “In recent weeks, it’s been unsettling to see people recklessly, irresponsibly, and ruthlessly spreading misinformation and outright lies.” He specifically called out Trump for initiating a “lie campaign” about the hurricane, adding, “It’s ridiculous, and it has to stop.”
On the evening of the 9th, Hurricane Milton had already made landfall in Florida. According to U.S. media, Milton brought heavy rain and strong winds to the Tampa area near the point of landfall. St. Petersburg, located in Tampa Bay, saw nearly 23 centimeters of rainfall in just three hours, and over 40 centimeters of rain in the past 24 hours, prompting a state of emergency for flash floods. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that over 100 tornado warnings had been issued, with 19 confirmed tornadoes causing damage across several counties. According to data from a U.S. power outage tracking website, more than 2.67 million users in Florida were without power due to the impact of Hurricane Milton.
The U.S. Meteorological Department reported that although Milton had weakened to a Category 3 hurricane, its landfall occurred in a densely populated area, still posing a significant threat. More than 5.5 million people in Florida have been ordered to evacuate. Milton is the second hurricane to make landfall in Florida within a short period, following “Helen” at the end of last month. Reports indicate that the death toll from Helen in the U.S. has risen to at least 235, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The devastating hurricanes, striking the U.S. twice as the election draws near, have turned the issue into a political focal point for both the Democratic and Republican parties. The Washington Post cited historian Tevi Troy, noting that Hurricane Milton has made “storm politics” a defining feature of the final stages of the election.
CNN reported that Trump further “spread misinformation” on the 9th, claiming the federal government mishandled the response to Hurricane Helen. He “falsely claimed” that current Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris “did not send anything or anyone” and refused to send helicopters to assist victims, “doing nothing while people struggled and drowned.”
In a speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania on the 9th, Trump criticized the hurricane response, stating, “This administration has done a terrible job. It’s awful, it’s awful.” He further attacked Harris, calling her “grossly incompetent” and “totally unfit to be President of the United States.” CNN criticized Trump for “openly attempting to politicize a natural disaster that has already claimed hundreds of lives,” spreading lies about his political opponents’ disaster response efforts just weeks before the election.
The Washington Post reported that Harris’s campaign team believes that a competent and compassionate response to the hurricane will effectively counter Trump’s accusations. In the aftermath of the hurricane, Harris shortened her campaign activities and focused on portraying herself as a steady leader, in stark contrast to Trump’s erratic leadership style. In recent days, she has altered her campaign schedule to visit victims of Hurricane Helen, participated in high-level briefings, and held calls with local officials across the Southeast.
According to the Associated Press, Harris stated during an online briefing on the 9th that she and President Biden will continue to “do everything in our power to protect those affected by Hurricane Milton and help those impacted by Hurricane Helen recover and rebuild.”
Hurricane Milton has also altered Harris’s presidential campaign activities. CNN reported that Harris’s campaign team has suspended voter outreach efforts across Florida as a precaution and has been working to ensure the safe evacuation of all campaign staff in the hurricane’s path. Harris’s team is also monitoring and discussing the potential electoral impact of Hurricane Helen in key swing states like North Carolina, aiming to ensure that even if the storm disrupts some polling locations or displaces residents, voters will still be able to cast their ballots.
CNN also noted that in the few weeks left before the election, Harris’s campaign team is using the recovery efforts from the hurricane to continue contrasting Harris’s leadership with Trump’s. This week, her team released a new digital ad in which former officials from Trump’s administration criticize the former president’s handling of natural disasters during his term.
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