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    • How Hurricane Helene’s damage collides with the 2024 presidential race
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    How Hurricane Helene’s damage collides with the 2024 presidential race

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    WASHINGTON — The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene has collided with the politics of the 2024 presidential race, as former President Donald Trump attacks the Biden administration’s response.

    It has increased pressure on Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, in the battleground states of North Carolina and Georgia, both ravaged by flooding.

    Trump will visit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday afternoon to deliver remarks, receive a briefing on the devastation of Hurricane Helene and “facilitate the distribution of relief supplies,” his campaign said.

    At a campaign rally Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump accused Biden of “sleeping now” as the president spent the weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He mocked Harris for being at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Saturday “with her radical left crazy donors, while large parts of our country have been devastated by that huge hurricane.”

    Harris, who held a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, canceled other campaign stops on the West Coast to return to Washington on Monday to receive an afternoon briefing at FEMA headquarters. Harris spoke Sunday with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

    “The Vice President plans to visit affected communities as soon as possible without disrupting emergency response operations,” a White House official said.

    More: Hard-hit areas that are struggling after Helene; at least 100 dead: live updates

    At least 100 people are dead and more than 2 million are without power in parts of western North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and Virginia. In total, more than 12 inches of rain fell in Atlanta in 48 hours, breaking a record that stood for nearly 150 years. Western North Carolina bore the brunt of the devastating rainfall, with some areas recording more than 3 feet.

    In Buncombe County, North Carolina, which includes battered Asheville, the wreckage is overwhelming.

    “We’ve had biblical devastation throughout the county. We’ve had biblical flooding here,” said Ryan Cole, the deputy director of Buncombe County Emergency Services.

    Biden said in a White House speech on Monday that he is “committed to traveling to the affected areas as quickly as possible,” but he has been told his presence would be disruptive if he went now.

    “We will not do so at the risk of diverting or delaying the response resources needed to address this crisis,” Biden said. “I expect to be there later this week.”

    Biden said he spoke Sunday with Cooper, Kemp and officials from Florida, Tennessee and other states affected by the storm, calling it “not just a catastrophic storm” but a “history-making storm.” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is on the ground in Asheville, North Carolina, Biden said.

    “I want them to know that we are not leaving until the job is done,” Biden said, adding that 3,600 federal workers have been deployed in the Southeast to help with rescue efforts and clearing debris.

    In addition to FEMA personnel, this includes members of the National Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Communications Commission employees who help restore communications capacity, and Department of Defense officials.

    ‘We know there is more to do. We will continue to deliver resources including food, water, communications and life-saving equipment,” Biden said.

    Biden responded angrily to a reporter’s question about criticism that he should have stayed in Washington all weekend to lead the hurricane response.

    ‘I was in command. “I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday, and the day before yesterday,” Biden said. “It’s called a telephone.”

    Asked whether Trump’s visit to Georgia is a disruption to recovery efforts, Biden said: “I have no idea.”

    Reach Joey Garrison at X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.

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