US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit areas devastated by deadly Hurricane Helene on Wednesday, after Harris' electoral rival Donald Trump turned her handling of the disaster into a political football.
Biden, 81, will visit North Carolina, where he will take a helicopter ride over the flood-affected city of Asheville, one of the places most affected by the storm's deadly advance in the southeastern United States.
He will also visit a rescue command center in the state, where more than 70 people died, and travel to neighboring South Carolina. AFP reported.
Authorities say Helene killed at least 155 people and left up to 600 missing in several states.
Meanwhile, Harris, 59, who replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate for the Nov. 5 election, will travel separately to the southern state of Georgia, which has also been hit hard by the storm.
North Carolina and Georgia are also two of seven crucial swing states that could decide the outcome of the election.
Biden said he had not been able to travel earlier because rescuers said his visit would have affected ground operations. He will also travel to Florida and Georgia in the coming days, the White House said.
“My top priority is to ensure that communities devastated by this hurricane get the help and support they need as quickly as possible,” Biden told reporters Tuesday.
Former Republican President Trump, 78, however tried to take political advantage of the catastrophe, accusing the US government, without evidence, of ignoring the crisis and denying aid to his supporters.
He also criticized Biden and Harris for being out of Washington over the weekend after the hurricane. He accused Biden of “sleeping” at his Delaware beach house while Harris was at campaign fundraisers on the US west coast.
Meanwhile, Trump headed to the disaster zone on Monday, visiting the affected city of Valdosta in Georgia. He promised to “carry a lot of relief materials, including fuel, equipment, water and other things.”
