President Joe Biden is postponing an international trip this week ahead of Hurricane Milton‘s impending landfall.
Biden was scheduled to depart Washington, D.C., on Thursday for Germany and later Angola. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that the trip would proceed as planned. The president had promised to travel to Africa before leaving office.
“Given the projected trajectory and strength of Hurricane Milton, President Biden is postponing his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola in order to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton, in addition to the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement Tuesday morning.
Biden was heartily criticized earlier last week for not being at the White House as Hurricane Helene tore through much of the Southeast. The president eventually left his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home and traveled to the Carolinas, Florida, and Georgia to survey storm damage and meet with first responders and victims of the disaster.
Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump, have said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris haven’t done enough to help the hurricane victims, making disaster response a key campaign matter one month out from Election Day. Trump has called it the “worst storm response in history” and urged voters, particularly in swing states Georgia and North Carolina, to vote out Democrats next month.
Meantime, Harris has accused Trump of peddling disinformation about hurricane relief aid, particularly on illegal immigrants taking disaster aid funds, calling the claims “extraordinarily irresponsible.”
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Helene’s death toll is at least 230 people, and severe flooding is still impacting significant parts of North Carolina. Hurricane Milton has been gathering strength over the past two days and is currently projected to make landfall along in western Florida
“We’re going to continue to certainly pre-position on the ground, and we’re going to support the communities with whatever they need and whenever. That is our commitment. That is our commitment to the folks who are going to be impacted,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at Monday’s White House press briefing. “We’ve been in touch with state and local officials in Florida, and we’re going to ensure that we meet in advance of what their needs are going to be.”
