USA, the impact of successive hurricanes on the presidential campaign

Hurricanes Helene and Milton intervened in this year's presidential campaign as uninvited friends and destroyers. Back-to-back hurricanes have forced the candidates, Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, to change their campaign calendar and themes. On Thursday they both devoted a good part of the day to responding to storm recovery efforts.

They prompted questions from Americans about which president would best respond to deadly natural disasters, an issue that was once overlooked but has increasingly become part of the administration's work routine. And coming just weeks before the Nov. 5 election, the hurricanes have had consequences for voting plans in several key counties.

Vice President Harris is trying to use this as an opportunity to project her leadership skills, appearing alongside President Joe Biden to brief the state and call for bipartisan cooperation.

Former President Trump is trying to use this moment to accuse the administration of incompetence, as well as to cast doubt that it is not helping Republican districts, despite the fact that there is no evidence of such a thing.

The pressure is further compounded by the need to secure more funding for the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would require House Republicans to work with the Democratic administration.

President Biden said Thursday that lawmakers should take up the issue immediately.

"Dealing with back-to-back crises will put FEMA more in the spotlight, and therefore (President) Biden's administration will be under the microscope in the days leading up to the election," said Timothy Kneeland, a professor at Nazareth University in Rochester in New York, who has studied the issue.

"Vice President Harris should show empathy for the victims without changing the campaign calendar," adds Prof. Kneeland.

Candidates Trump and Harris have each visited Georgia to assess hurricane damage and pledge support, and Ms. Harris has visited North Carolina, meaning the candidates have had to cancel campaign events elsewhere at a time when valuable resource in the final weeks before the election.

Both Georgia and North Carolina are swing states.

The aftermath of the hurricane is also visible in their campaign activities.

Republican candidate Donald Trump attacked Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden over storm recovery efforts.

"The federal government ... has not done what it should have done, particularly with regard to North Carolina," he said Thursday.

Ms. Harris, who has said Mr. Trump is spreading lies about the government's response, hit back at the politicization of the issue during a talk with voters hosted by Univision television on Thursday.

"Unfortunately we've seen over the last two weeks, with Hurricane Helene and now with the immediate aftermath of Milton, that people are playing political games," she said without naming former President Trump.

Mrs. Harris has also emphasized the misinformation that the Republicans are spreading.

Politicians of both parties are acutely aware of how support for former Republican President George W. Bush plummeted after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005. The perception of many at the time was that his administration's response was insufficient.

The storms have also caused problems for the voting process. The North Carolina State Board of Elections has passed a resolution to help people in the state's affected counties vote. Florida will allow some counties greater flexibility in distributing mail-in ballots and changing polling places./VOA