On the campaign trail newsletter - the politics of catastrophe
By James Oliphant
Oct 10 (Reuters) - Hurricane Milton wreaked havoc across Florida overnight on Thursday. What happens next could have a meaningful impact on the U.S. presidential race with just a few weeks to go before Election Day.
I’m James Oliphant, national political correspondent for Reuters, and I lived in the Sunshine State for several years. My thoughts are with every resident suffering through this catastrophic storm.
Traditionally, when disasters such as Milton strike, politics are left for later. But that was not the case with Hurricane Helene, which flooded much of the Southeast, killed more than 220 people and left hundreds of thousands without power.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump immediately tried to turn the disaster to his advantage, first hauling in supplies as a form of a shadow government entity and then publicly questioning the efficacy of the Biden administration’s response.
Then Trump and his allies took it a step further, suggesting without evidence that the Federal Emergency Management Agency lacked the resources to help disaster victims because it was diverting funds to shelter migrants in the country illegally.
That story, which was quickly debunked by federal officials, had legs. It was part of a torrent of disinformation that surrounded the storm, with some lawmakers such as U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene even claiming the government can control the weather.
Trump’s Democratic opponent in the Nov. 5 election, Vice President Kamala Harris , called his conduct “ extraordinarily irresponsible .”
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the false rumors were undermining trust in government and discouraging some victims from applying for assistance.
Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans pushed back, too. U.S. Representative Chuck Edwards, whose district lies within flooded western North Carolina, on Wednesday denounced "outrageous rumors" spread by "untrustworthy sources trying to spark chaos."
Trump’s insinuations are part of a pattern that is accelerating as the election approaches. He has argued that the federal government can’t keep Americans safe due to the influx of migrants into the county. And he has increasingly claimed, without evidence, that the election results may not be reliable because noncitizens are voting, which would be illegal.
The Trump campaign maintains that border security and crime are top issues for voters and that his policies are a reason why he is in a position to win the election. Critics say Trump is scapegoating migrants for all economic and public safety worries the country faces.
With now a second disaster slamming the Southeast in a matter of weeks, voters will watch Trump’s response, as well as how the Biden-Harris administration responds to one of the most challenging tests of its tenure.
Concerns about voter turnout have intensified, particularly in the mountains of North Carolina, a battleground state. The area hit hardest by Helene is deeply Republican, and the Trump campaign is pushing to make sure those residents are still able to vote.
North Carolina lawmakers this week passed a disaster relief package aimed at helping voters in affected counties cast a ballot next month, while voting rights groups in Florida asked a federal judge to extend the state’s voter registration deadline due to the disruptions from Helene and Milton.
Some political analysts expressed concern that the Trump campaign could use the fallout from Helene as an excuse to challenge the results should he ultimately lose.
"If Trump loses, this will be one of the things he uses to cast blame, that North Carolina Democrats stole it from him," Doug Heye, a Republican strategist from North Carolina, told us.
Expect Harris and Trump to survey the storm damage in Florida in the coming days, trying to navigate that fragile line between being perceived as expressing sympathy and exploiting tragedy, all the while hoping voters see them as the one to count on when the worst happens.
FACT CHECK OF THE WEEK
As Hurricane Milton barreled toward Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday, misinformation surrounding relief efforts and conspiracy theories about officials controlling the weather continued surfacing online.
Ahead of Milton, more than 1 million people were ordered to evacuate in Florida’s Gulf Coast, a region still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which battered the Southeast at the end of September. Read more here.
In this section, the Reuters fact-checking team addresses misinformation connected to the U.S. elections. Find more fact checks from around the world here.
THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
The Kremlin confirmed that the administration of then-President Trump sent COVID-19 tests to Russia during the pandemic but denied Trump had been in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving the White House.
In his new book "War,” U.S. journalist Bob Woodward quoted an unnamed Trump aide as saying that Trump and Putin may have spoken as many as seven times since Trump left the White House in 2021, according to The Washington Post.
Also according to the Woodward book, Trump while still president in 2020 had sent the coveted COVID tests to Putin during a crippling shortage in the U.S. and around the world.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Oct. 10: Trump speaks to the Detroit Economic Club; Harris rallies in Arizona, holds town hall on Univision; Barack Obama rally for Harris in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Oct. 11: Trump holds rallies in Aurora, Colorado, and Reno, Nevada
Oct. 12: Trump meets with Hispanic community members in Las Vegas, then holds a rally in Coachella, California
Oct. 13: Harris rally in Greenville, North Carolina; Trump holds a rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona
Oct. 14: Harris rally in Erie, Pennsylvania
THE WHO, WHAT AND WHEN
How does the US Electoral College work?
US presidential election: What are the key dates?
Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis
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