Storm response takes center stage on campaign trail

WASHINGTON (TND) — The recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene now get political with both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump shifting their plans to respond to the storm.

The death toll as a result of the major storm continued to rise as many states are still tallying up the damage.

I want them to know we're not leaving until the job is done. I also want you to know I'm committed to traveling to the impacted areas as soon as possible," President Joe Biden said on Monday.

Biden said he plans to travel to North Carolina Wednesday or Thursday to support one of the hardest-hit states in the path of Hurricane Helene. He said he was waiting to be sure a visit wouldn’t disrupt emergency response efforts. Many remain unaccounted for and some communities are without essential services after widespread damage.

Former President Donald Trump was in Valdosta, Georgia Monday for the recovery efforts there. Trump had previously called out both Biden and Harris saying Biden was on the beach instead of responding to the storm, and Harris was too busy fundraising.

They're having a very hard time getting the, getting the President on the phone he won't get on. The vice president, she’s out someplace campaigning, looking for money. So they got to be, they have to be focused over here. It’s too big," Trump told reporters after he arrived in the hard-hit south Georgia city.

Governor Brian Kemp, R-Ga., told reporters earlier in the day he had spoken with President Biden the day before and that Biden told him to call him directly if he needed anything.

Harris changed up her campaign plans because of the storm, pledging to give states everything they needed before leaving Nevada early to attend FEMA briefings.

"I want to thank everyone for doing everything you can to think about them, send them your thoughts, send them your prayers. I want to thank the first responders who have done so much," she said to the crowd at her Las Vegas rally on Sunday.

The vice president received a briefing from FEMA in Washington D.C. on Monday where she promised to visit the areas impacted "as soon as possible."

I plan to be on the ground as soon as possible, but as soon as possible without disrupting any emergency response operations, because that must be the highest priority," Harris said. "To everyone who has been impacted by this storm and to all of those of you who are rightly feeling overwhelmed by the destruction and the loss our nation is with you."

Harris also noted the heroics of first responders in helping devastated communities.

"Over the past few days, our nation has endured some of the worst destruction and devastation that we have seen in quite some time, and we have responded with our best, with the best folks who are on the ground and here doing the kind of work that is about rising to a moment of crisis, to do everything we can to lift up folks who deserve to be seen and heard," Harris said.

The historic storm is eventually going to come with a price tag. President Biden said he’s considering asking Congress to come back from recess to authorize more disaster relief money, but they still don’t know the total cost of the damage.