The intensification of Hurricane Milton into a Category 5 storm headed straight for Florida will pose a serious test for the Biden-Harris administration, which has already been stretched by the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
President Biden and Vice President Harris, who have already visited parts of the country hit by Helene, have worked hard to stay on top of the federal recovery effort, but their leadership skills will be tested in new ways when Milton, which is generating wind speeds of 175 mph, slams into Florida.
The stakes are high for Harris, who has a higher favorability rating than former President Trump but trails Trump, the former commander in chief, on the trait of “leadership” in some battleground states.
While Harris leads Trump when voters are asked to rate which candidate is more compassionate or honest, she has yet to fully establish her leadership credentials on handling the economy and national security, to name two top issues, in the minds of some voters.
Strategists in both parties say that then-President Obama’s adroit response to the disaster, which was captured in visual terms by Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie warmly greeting the president on the tarmac of Atlantic City International Airport in late October, helped seal his victory over GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
Twelve years later, the Republican governors of Florida and Georgia, Ron DeSantis and Brian Kemp, realize the optics and political stakes of the moment, and are carefully steering clear of any photo ops that might make Harris look presidential.
Posted by John3262005
4 Comments
Playing political games with natural disaster response is just stupid on so many levels, so of course the modern GOP will do it
Pretty sure the reason Harris polls better on compassion and worse on leadership has nothing to do with actual demonstrated compassion or leadership.
That’s the most ham fisted attempt to make a hurricane about the election I’ve seen yet, good lord how dumb.
If the populist garbage rhetoric about Israel/Ukraine aid taking away money from hurricane relief is what swings this election towards the fascist I am going to become the Jonkler.