 "While Hurricane Sandy worked for Obama in 2012, Helene might not help Harris against Trump. AP")
As the race for the White House intensified, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris paid visits to key swing states ravaged by Hurricane Helene. While Biden visited two Carolinas, it was Harris’s trip to Augusta, Georgia, that was being watched closely.
From embracing the storm victims to passing out food to the locals, Harris did everything to empathise with the people of Augusta. But the question that emerged during her visit to the storm-stricken region was whether her response to Hurricane Helene was ’too late'.
The Democratic presidential nominee’s visit to Augusta came two days after Trump paid a visit to Valdosta, Georgia, where he pushed his rhetoric to the tea. Over the years, hurricanes and the presidential candidates’ response to it has been a game changer. One of the major examples of this was how Obama’s response to Hurricane Sandy secured his presidency.
How Hurricane Sandy revived Obama’s presidential campaign
It was the year 2012 when Hurricane Sandy struck eight countries, killing 233 people. However, it was the east coast of the United States that took the major brunt of it. While 53 died in New York and 34 died in New Jersey, other deaths occurred in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut, and Maryland.
Amid the chaos, television cameras showed former US President Barrack Obama, aboard the presidential helicopter and flying over the ravaged areas overseeing the damage caused by heavy rains and flash floods. Obama visiting the region, embarrassing the victims of the storm became the image that defined the key moment of the 2012 US presidential election.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhile all that was happening, his challenger, the Republican Party’s then-presidential nominee, Mitt Romney was miles away on a campaign trail in Florida. American television, which kept a close eye on every single movement of the presidential nominees, quickly caught the contrast between the two.
Multiple news channels split their screens to show one in presidential mode, seemingly above politics, and the other back on the stump, making partisan points in a time of crisis. Obama’s response to Hurricane Sandy gave him a last-minute boost to his campaign before the elections.
According to the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll at that time, 68 per cent of voters approved the former president’s handling of the Hurricane. Overall, the survey gave Obama a 48 per cent to 47 per cent lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney in the November 6 election.
This was a slight uptick for Obama who was struggling to gain a lead against Romney in polls published before the storm. Just two weeks before the final polls, the race for the White House was tied at 47 per cent. Eventually, Obama won 332 electoral votes against Romney who bagged only 206 electorates.
Things might not be the same for Harris
As the US headed closer to the November 5 polls, Hurricane Helene hit southeastern states killing 183 people. During her visit to Augusta, Harris lauded the efforts of the first responders. “You all are doing God’s work right now,” Harris averred. “And I know many of the people in this room, you are members of this community,” she added.
“You all leave home, you leave family members who are in need of help and support to go and help people who are perfect strangers to you, and you do this work in these moments of crisis, around the clock, with an intention and with a level of care and love for the community that is unmatched,” she continued.
While speaking to the reporters afterward, Harris noted that the storm was devastating because of the “loss of life, loss of normalcy and loss of critical resources.” She mentioned that 60 per cent of the residents in the city do not have power and that many have been running without water for a few days.
“There has been real pain and trauma that has resulted because of this hurricane and the aftermath of it,” the vice president said. She also told the gathering that Biden had approved Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s request for 100 per cent federal reimbursement of local costs.
However, Harris’s recent trip is likely to make the kind of impact Obama’s did in 2012. There are two reasons to support the assertion.
1) ‘It was too late’
While Harris visited the state of Georgia on Wednesday, Trump visited the region on Monday. Unlike Romney, who didn’t bring politics into tragedy, Trump used his platform to push his rhetoric and false claims.
During his visit to Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday, the former president falsely claimed that Georgia Governor Kemp hadn’t been able to reach Biden. In an interview recorded prior to his visit, Trump also said that the Biden-Harris administration was “going out of their way to hurt” rural Trump voters by avoiding offering assistance to Republican areas of the state.
While Biden made it clear that Trump was lying, the proclamation made by the Republican presidential nominee already did considerable damage. Even if one doesn’t believe Trump’s claim, one thing will remain unchanged, the former reality TV star visited Georgia before the current vice president did.
2) Biden overshadowed Harris, even when he didn’t want it
While Harris made sure that she empathised with the storm victims, Biden unintentionally overshadowed her trip. On the same day, Biden visited both North and South Carolinas. It is important to note that at the end of the day, it is Biden who is sitting in the Oval Office and making the final calls.
Whichever way the current administration responds to the tragedy, it will be Biden’s presidency which will be ultimately judged. Also, conducting the two trips simultaneously split the media’s attention. Instead of completely covering Harris’s visit to Augusta, the press also had to focus on what their current president was doing.
While only the upcoming polls can indicate if Harris’s visit to Georgia gave a certain boost to her campaign, it can be safe to say, that the impact will not be as same as Obama’s response to Hurricane Sandy.