Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris greets a supporter helping with relief supplies for hurricane victims during a stop at “The Pit” barbecue restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., on October 12, 2024. Photo courtesy: Reuters
vice president kamala harris According to her campaign, she will meet with African American leaders in North Carolina on Saturday (October 12, 2024) and attend church in the state before a rally.
This weekend trip is his second visit to the battlefield state after the attack hurricane helenMs Harris is getting back into campaign mode in what many Democrats see as a potential boost in the November election.
The Democratic presidential candidate visited North Carolina last week to survey the devastation caused by Helen and pledged aid for its victims.
She plans to attend church on Sunday (Oct. 13) as part of a “Souls to the Polls” effort in Greenville, a city of about 90,000 people on the state’s coastal plain that defeated Republican Donald Trump in 2020. Had supported.
Democrats believe North Carolina is worried about losing its base of black and college-educated voters, as well as women, this year. loss of abortion protectionBut the aftermath of Hurricane Helen has become a political flashpoint for former President Trump and his allies. Biden administration’s response attacked To natural disaster.
On Saturday evening, Ms. Harris will meet with local African American elected, faith and community leaders at a restaurant in Raleigh, as well as work with volunteers who are preparing relief supplies for hurricane victims.
After church on Sunday, Ms Harris plans to speak about the economy at a rally to drum up support ahead of early voting starting on Thursday (Oct 17) in North Carolina.
Hurricane Helene, which struck on September 26, resulted in the deaths of approximately 230 people and the destruction of roads, power, and cell phone service. Exactly two weeks later on Wednesday, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, causing an estimated $50 billion in damage and killing many people.
Also read: Residents remove debris after Hurricane Milton left streets flooded in Florida
In addition to attending briefings virtually on response efforts and rearranging her campaign schedule, Ms. Harris has also visited Georgia after Helen struck. But he has continued to travel in the run-up to the presidential race, spending time in Nevada and Arizona.
One of his key messages is that there should be no price increases by companies taking advantage of shortages caused by the storm, an issue he has made central to his campaign as a way to tackle inflation.
“Any company or individual who is using this crisis to raise prices through illegal fraud or price gouging, whether at the gas pump, airport or hotel counter, we will monitor and there will be consequences,” Ms. Harris said at a Friday briefing.
But Trump and his allies have suggested that disaster relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency went to immigrants rather than hurricane victims, while also suggesting that people are not getting the full financial assistance they are legally entitled to.
At a recent rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, Trump said the government’s response was worse than the way it handled 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, which killed nearly 1,400 people and caused $200 billion in damage.
“North Carolina has been hit very hard and this administration has not done a fair job at all. Horrible, horrible,” Trump said at the rally, adding that Harris was “on a fundraising comedy tour while people are stranded and drowning in some of our great states.” President Joe Biden criticized the storm. Per has called Trump’s lies about the government’s response “un-American” and told his predecessor to “get a life, dude.”
published – October 13, 2024 07:02 am IST