A hurricane, an intensifying war and a looming strike present Harris with a series of new crises

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are scrambling to revise their travel plans and tactics as they face a real-time test of how they handle unexpected crises: a triad of life-threatening weather, a war and a looming longshoremen's strike that could Drive up prices.

The challenge for Harris is to formulate a government response without politicizing a moment that requires bridging national divisions.

Former President Trump's dilemma is that any condemnation he voices could draw attention to his own actions in 2017, when he blithely tossed paper towels to residents of Puerto Rico ravaged by Hurricane Maria.

“These storms are critical events for elected officials when disaster strikes,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster. “If there are only seven swing states left in the election that are essentially undecided right now, and several of those swing states have suffered extraordinary damage from this storm, then.” any The effect at the edges of these swing states could influence the outcome at the national level.”

Harris canceled campaign stops and left the trail in Nevada on Monday. He rushed back to Washington, D.C., to be personally briefed by Federal Emergency Management officials on the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

“Thank you for showing up for us,” Erik Hooks, the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told her.

Harris plans to visit the storm-hit areas “as quickly as possible without disrupting emergency response efforts,” a White House official said.

Trump, for his part, traveled to Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday to inspect storm damage and express his “solidarity” with victims of the disaster, which killed at least 116 people and left two million customers without power in several southern states.

Trump used a news conference at a local furniture store in Georgia to say politics should play no role in the recovery effort — while also issuing false criticism of his opponents over their handling of the storm response.

Trump suggested that Brian Kemp, the Republican governor of Georgia, who was not at the event, “couldn't get President Joe Biden on the phone” to talk about the storm's aftermath, although Kemp told reporters the two had spoken on Sunday evening.

“He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’” Kemp told the press about his conversation with Biden. “And I told him, you know, we have what we need. We will work through the federal process.”

Harris also spoke with Kemp and officials in other storm-hit communities as she flew home on Air Force Two on Monday, a White House official said. Trump later mocked a photo she posted on social media along with a description of her discussion with officials.

In both campaigns, the path of the hurricane was not lost. Communities in two battleground states that could decide the election, North Carolina and Georgia, are now looking for federal aid and leadership as they struggle to rebuild.

In North Carolina, recent CNN and Marist polls showed Harris and Trump tied at 49-49%. And in Georgia, which Biden won in 2020, a recent Fox News poll showed Harris up 51-48%, while CBS News showed Trump leading 51-49%.

The pool of undecided voters is small, but the leadership temperament displayed by Harris and Trump in the coming weeks could prove significant in an election that remains back-and-forth, analysts say.

North Carolina might be a case in point. The western part of the state is a rural, heavily Republican region that surrounds two blue dots centered on Asheville and Boone, cities hit hardest by the hurricane. Biden easily won Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, 60% to 39%.

“There’s a pretty simple playbook for whether campaigns are helpful or unhelpful,” said Caitlin Legacki, a Democratic strategist and former Biden administration official. “For example, the Harris team already leverages its email lists and social accounts in North Carolina to provide information and resources to its followers. You'll likely see satellite locations temporarily used as food banks and donation drop-off locations. These are productive opportunities for campaigns to engage in relief efforts.”

The cascading developments in the U.S. and abroad offer both candidates a chance to gain or lose ground in a race where little appears to be changing the course.

One argument Harris and the Democrats are making before her is that they are more competent than Trump and better suited to run the federal government.

“This week's events demonstrate the importance of having a president who takes seriously the challenges facing the country and the world,” said a Harris campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the dynamic of the election campaign. “Donald Trump is dubious. He rants about his hair and Johnny Carson, stoking the fires of division. The vice president is helping to lead the federal response to the disaster, including thousands of federal forces deployed to assist.”

But the storm's fallout, along with the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and a possible port strike that could disrupt supply chains, threatens the core tenet of Harris' campaign.

She is part of a Biden administration that has made it clear to voters that this can avert problems or prevent them from spreading. Presidents are not responsible for disputes between unions and management. Nor can they control the weather or necessarily dictate events on a battlefield nearly 6,000 miles away. But fair or not, the public can still hold them accountable.

Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked in George W. Bush's White House during Hurricane Katrina, said people tend to blame the federal government for poor disaster relief, even though the effort was largely led by state and local authorities be taken over.

“Emergencies like this can definitely throw a wrench into campaign plans,” Conant said. “Ultimately, people expect the federal government to respond and blame the administration when the response is inadequate.”

As for the war in the Middle East, Harris did not respond to reporters' questions about deteriorating conditions before boarding her plane back to Washington.

On Saturday, after an Israeli operation killed Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah, Harris said: “Hezbollah's victims enjoy a measure of justice” after “a terrorist with American blood on his hands” died.

She emphasized that she and Biden want to prevent an escalation of tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

“We have been working on a diplomatic solution along the Israel-Lebanon border so that people on both sides of that border can return home safely,” she said. “Diplomacy remains the best way to protect civilians and achieve lasting stability in the region.”

To capitalize on this situation, Trump has sought to portray Harris as incompetent in her response to the hurricane. He took to social media to attack Harris over a picture she posted while being briefed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a flight on Air Force Two.

“Another FAKE and INSPECTED photo of someone who has no idea what she is doing,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday. “You have to connect the cable to the phone for it to work!”

Trump's criticism of Harris could lead to accusations that, as president, he mishandled the hurricanes that occurred under his watch. At one point, he appeared to use a Sharpie to point at a map that Hurricane Dorian was threatening Alabama, even though that wasn't the case. Then there were reports that he once asked officials if he could use a nuclear bomb to destroy a hurricane.

One of the enduring images of Trump's presidency was him throwing rolls of paper towels to a crowd of Puerto Ricans during his 2017 visit after Hurricane Maria hit the island. Some critics considered the gesture callous given the extent of the suffering.

“He viewed it as a photo op,” said Nikki Fried, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party.