The vice president was spending Sunday in Greenville. She planned to speak during a church service as part of her campaign’s “Souls to the Polls” effort to help turn out Black churchgoers before Election Day. Her campaign said she was also scheduled to hold a rally to discuss her economic plans and highlight Thursday’s start of early voting in the state.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will spend the coming week campaigning in the competitive states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina, according to a Harris campaign official who asked for anonymity to share details not yet made public.
Less than four weeks before Election Day, the hurricanes have added another dimension to the closely contested presidential race.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said the Biden administration’s storm response had been lacking, particularly in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. And Biden and Harris have hammered Trump for promoting falsehoods about the federal response.
Trump made a series of false claims after Helene struck in late September, including incorrectly saying that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to Republican disaster victims. He also falsely claimed the Federal Emergency Management Agency had run out of money because all of it had gone to programs for immigrants in the country illegally.
Biden said Trump was “not singularly” to blame for the spread of false claims in recent weeks but that he has the “biggest mouth.”
The President is pressing Congress for swift action to ensure the Small Business Administration and FEMA have the money they need to survive hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. He said Friday that Milton alone had caused an estimated $50 billion in damages.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week that FEMA will be able to meet “immediate needs” caused by the two storms. But he warned in the aftermath of Helene that the agency does not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season.
However, Johnson has pushed back, saying the agencies have enough money for now and that lawmakers will address the funding issue during the lame-duck session after the election.
Tensions between Harris and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are also percolating in the background. As Helene barreled toward Florida last week, the Democratic vice president and Republican governor traded accusations that the other was trying to politicize the federal storm response.
Harris’ office last week suggested that DeSantis was dodging her phone calls. DeSantis responded that he was unaware she had called and grumbled that she hadn’t been involved in the federal government’s response before she became the Democratic presidential nominee.
For his part, Biden said he hoped to see DeSantis on Sunday if the Governor’s schedule permitted.
“He’s been very cooperative,” Biden said about DeSantis. He added, “We got on very, very well.”
DeSantis said Saturday that he had no details about the president’s visit.
Biden was scheduled to survey damage during an aerial tour between Tampa and St. Petersburg Beach. Federal, state, and local officials will brief him on the storm, and he’ll also meet residents and first responders.
Hurricane Milton landed in Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday evening. At least 10 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of residents remain without power.
Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for widespread evacuations. The still-fresh devastation wrought by Helene just two weeks earlier probably helped compel many people to flee.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Associated Press
10 comments
60 minutes is fake
October 13, 2024 at 9:06 am
Harris at a Black Church. Shocker. Will she put on her best Jeremiah Wright impression?
Bill
October 13, 2024 at 11:44 am
You are actually becoming more stupid by the day. Get some new material or something.
60 minutes is fake
October 13, 2024 at 1:34 pm
Do you have anything to say besides calling someone stupid? I’m calling you out dumb azz😜
Bill
October 13, 2024 at 1:41 pm
Nothing else to say really. Your comments speak for themselves.
60 minutes is fake
October 13, 2024 at 2:18 pm
Kammy stays with friendly media. Kammy doesn’t do interviews with anyone or any media source that might actually ask tough questions. Kammy is a fraud and a phony. Prove me wrong Bill
Jojo
October 14, 2024 at 2:08 pm
Are you 12?
60 minutes is fake
October 15, 2024 at 5:00 am
No JoJo. I am currently traveling through Europe. Obviously not watching much on f the news. So tell me did Kammy do her Jeremiah Wright impression or not? Like I have said many times, there isn’t an original thought in her tiny little brain. Evidently that book she coauthored several years ago had 27 statements or items that were most likely plagiarized.
The Sage "E"
October 13, 2024 at 11:46 am
Good Morn ‘Ting Beloved Un-Decided Voters,
Joe’s coming to Florida to “STICK A FORK” in “SCRUMPY KAMMIE’S CAMPAIGNE” because:
#1.) She is Done.
#2.) Joe knows 100% that he would have won his life-long Dream of being a 2 term President if the 0bama Gang Faction of their Party had not “Pushed Joe Out”.
#3.) Joe’s gonna make those “Trifelling Fools” suffer for 12 years of “A Republican In The White House”.
You, the Beloved Un-Decided Voters, will remember for the rest of your lives exactly where you were when you read the above “Sage Words Of Wisdom”.
“SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE “E”?”:
“I’m glad you asked”, said “E”.
# 1.) The die has already been cast; so the only logical thing to do is sit back and watch the drama unfold.
IN CLOSING:
Beloved Un-Decided Voters, it should be Chrystal Clear that The Good Ship Harris has sunk before it left port after you bare witness what Joe says and does during his Florida visit.
Thank you, Beloved Un-Decided Voters, for your support of Donald Trump. And join me, The Sage “E” in observing the 0bama Gang Faction of their Party engage in “Wailing and Gnashing of Their Teeth” for:
#1.) The upcoming Trump term.
#2.) The following Desantis term.
#3.) The second Desantis term.
Thank you and Joe, for making this sweet victory for The Good Guys happen.
Much Love, Beloved Un-Decided Voters,
“E”
PeterH
October 13, 2024 at 12:46 pm
Florida residents need to be educated to the fact that Biden, Trump or DeSantis, or the Veterans Administration are going to rebuild business or homes in hurricane ravaged areas of Florida. The Federal government “MAY” offer low interest guaranteed LOANS to homeowners and businesses IF the homeowner or business QUALIFY for the loan. In order to QUALIFY for the emergency rebuild loan you must have collateral or proven income to repay the loan.
Jojo
October 14, 2024 at 2:07 pm
But once again our small petty governor deigned not to meet with the president of the United States
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