U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will on Wednesday see their way clear to visit areas devastated by Hurricane Helene, arriving some 72-hours after former President Donald Trump made the same journey to the stricken zone.
Trump journeyed to the disaster area early on Monday, visiting the devastated town of Valdosta in Georgia.
The Republican nominee traveled with a Christian charity organization that brought trucks of fuel, food, water and other supplies, as Breitbart News reported.
The death toll is now approaching 160 people, and power and cellular service remains unavailable in some places.
After arriving, Trump accused Biden of “sleeping” and not responding to calls from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Biden will visit North Carolina, where he will make a helicopter trip over the flood-hit city of Asheville, one of the places worst hit by the storm’s deadly rampage through the southeastern United States.
The octogenarian will also visit a rescue command center in the state, where more than 70 people were killed, and travel to neighboring South Carolina.
Officials say Helene has left up to 600 unaccounted for across several states as well as the confirmed – and rising – death toll.
Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee for the November 5 election, will travel separately to the southern state of Georgia, which has also been badly hit by the storm.
Both their absences from the disaster area have been noted previously, sparking an angry response from Biden when challenged on the issue.
A reporter asked Biden on Monday, “On the hurricane, Mr. President, why weren’t you and Vice President Harris here in Washington commanding this this weekend?”
Biden snapped back, “I was commanding, I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I command. It’s called a telephone.”
Biden returned Sunday afternoon to Washington, DC, after spending the weekend relaxing at his beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris spent the weekend on the West Coast at fundraisers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
