WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are rushing to revise travel plans and tactics as they face a real-time test of how they handle unexpected crises: a trifecta of life-threatening weather, a war and a looming dock workers’ strike that could drive up prices.

Harris’ challenge is to shape a government response without politicizing a moment that calls for bridging national divisions.

Former President Trump’s dilemma is that any condemnation he issues could draw attention to his own actions in 2017, when he gleefully threw paper towels at Puerto Rican residents reeling from Hurricane Maria.

“These storms are a make-or-break event for elected leaders when disaster strikes,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster. “If the election is down to seven swing states that are actually tied at this point, and some of those swing states have suffered extraordinary damage from this storm, then each The effect in the margins of these swing states could influence the outcome at the national level.”

Harris canceled campaign stops and left the trail in Nevada on Monday, heading back to Washington DC for a personal briefing from federal emergency officials on the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

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

Harris plans to visit storm-ravaged areas as soon as possible without disrupting emergency response operations, a White House official said.

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

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 leveling false criticism of his enemies over their handling of the storm response.

Trump suggested that Brian Kemp, the Republican governor of Georgia who was not at the event, “has not been able to get President Joe Biden on the phone” to discuss the storm’s toll, even though Kemp told reporters that the two had met on Sunday evening had spoken.

“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 communities affected by the storm she flew home on Air Force Two on Monday, a White House official said. Trump later ridiculed a photo she posted on social media along with a description of her conversation with officials.

In neither campaign was the hurricane’s path lost. Communities in two battleground states that could decide the election, North Carolina and Georgia, are now looking for federal help and leadership as they struggle to rebuild.

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

The pool of undecided voters is small, but the managerial temperament shown by Harris and Trump in the coming weeks could be significant in an election that remains a mess, analysts said.

North Carolina could be an example of this. The western part of the state is a rural, heavily Republican region around two blue dots centered on Asheville and Boone, cities that were among the hardest hit by the hurricane. Biden easily carried Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, by 60% to 39%.

“There’s a pretty simple playbook for campaigns that can be helpful or useless,” said Caitlin Legacki, a Democratic strategist and former Biden administration official. “For example, the Harris team has already used their email lists and social accounts in North Carolina to provide information and resources to their followers. You’ll likely see field offices temporarily used as food banks and donation drop-off locations. These are productive ways the campaigns can provide assistance.”

The cascading developments in the US and abroad offer both candidates an opportunity to gain or lose ground in a race in which little appears to change the trajectory.

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

“This week’s events show how crucial it is to have a president who is serious about the challenges facing the country and the world,” said a Harris campaign official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about to speak to the campaign dynamics. “Donald Trump is not serious. He rants about his hair and Johnny Carson and fans the flames of division. The vice president is helping lead the federal response to the disaster, including thousands of federal personnel deployed to assist.”

Still, the fallout from the storm — along with the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and a possible strike at ports that could disrupt supply chains — threatens the core of Harris’ campaign.

She is part of a Biden administration that has made it clear to voters that this would prevent problems from spreading. Presidents are not responsible for union management disputes. 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 a lackluster disaster response, even though that effort is largely being made by state and local authorities.

“Emergencies like this can certainly derail campaign plans,” Conant said. “Ultimately, people expect the federal government to be responsive and will blame the government if the response is inadequate.”

On the war in the Middle East, Harris did not respond to reporters’ questions about the 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 have a measure of justice” after the death of “a terrorist with American blood on his hands.”

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

“We have been working toward 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 path forward to protect civilians and achieve lasting stability in the region. .”

To capitalize on the moment, Trump has tried to portray Harris as incompetent in her response to the hurricane. He took to social media to attack Harris over a photo she posted while being briefed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency while flying on Air Force Two.

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

Trump’s criticism of Harris could spark accusations that as president he mishandled hurricanes that occurred on his watch. Once, he appeared to use a Sharpie to indicate on a map that Hurricane Dorian was threatening Alabama, even though it wasn’t. Subsequently, there were reports that he once asked officials if he could use an atomic bomb to destroy a hurricane.

One of the lasting images of Trump’s presidency was how he threw rolls of paper towels at a crowd of Puerto Ricans during his 2017 visit after Hurricane Maria hit the island. Some critics found the gesture callous given the magnitude of the suffering.

“He thought of them as a photo,” said Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party.