President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will travel this week to states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, the White House announced.
Biden is set to visit Raleigh, North Carolina, and South Carolina on Wednesday. Harris is slated to visit Augusta, Georgia, on Wednesday and will also head to North Carolina in the coming days, the White House said.
Their visits come as the hurricane’s death toll tops 130 and as former President Donald Trump has sought political leverage in the wake of the disaster. Trump visited a hurricane-ravaged region of Georgia on Monday as he criticized the federal response. The White House said it was focused on the federal response and didn’t want to divert resources from emergency operations.
Asked about Trump’s criticisms Monday, Biden said, “He is lying. … I don’t know why he does this. And the reason I get so angry about it — I don’t care about what he says about me, but I care what he — what he communicates to the people that — that are in need. He implies that we’re not doing everything possible. We are.”
