WASHINGTON: A devastating hurricane, a port workers strike, and wars in the middle-east and Ukraine is buffeting
Kamala Harris' campaign in a Presidential race that polls say is still a toss-up.
Latest numbers from the non-partisan Cook political report shows Harris with slight leads in five of the seven battleground states, and Trump leading in one (Georgia) and one tied (North Carolina). But they are all within the +/- 3.5 margin of error with a possible shake-out from multiple crises the Biden-Harris team is having to manage in the middle of the campaign.
Harris has had to detour to areas hit by hurricane Helene and Biden is following suit this week amid scorching criticism from MAGA activists about the administration spending billions on distant wars and on illegal immigrants at home while doling out a paltry $ 750 to hurricane affected families.
Although that's just the first immediate assistance for groceries, MAGA social media warriors are churning up a storm over lack of hurricane aid amid first signs of panic buying in some areas as port workers began an indefinite strike on Tuesday seeking better pay among other demands.
Typical of America -- and reminiscent of the pandemic-era panic -- the first item to disappear from stores was toilet paper.
As Harris and Biden toured the hurricane-affected areas on Wednesday, Trump, who beat them to the ground for what Democrats say was election showboating, tore into Biden and Harris, falsely claiming they were unresponsive, even though Republican Governors and local officials said they had immediate access and help from the administration.
"Kamala and Sleepy Joe are universally being given POOR GRADES for the way that they are handling the Hurricane, especially in North Carolina. It is going down as the WORST & MOST INCOMPETENTLY MANAGED “STORM,” AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, EVER SEEN BEFORE - BUT THEIR MANAGEMENT OF THE BORDER IS WORSE! MAGA2024," he said in a post.
The MAGA-sphere meanwhile was flooded with stories of neglect and abandonment -- and conspiracy theories. Among them: the hurricane was "steered" to North Carolina by establishment elites to depopulate the area so they could freely access record deposits of lithium there. North Carolina and Georgia are among the seven battleground states that will determine the outcome of the 2024 elections.
Marjorie Taylor-Greene, a pro-Trump lawmaker, was among those who led the MAGA chorus about alleged domestic neglect, tweeting, "Not only are Hurricane Helene victims only given an insulting measly $750 and being left stranded, the U.S. government is giving $1 BILLION to Ukraine every single month to fund the Ukrainian government. And FEMA has spent $1 BILLION on housing illegal aliens in the last 2 yrs."
Harris is returning to the campaign trail on Thursday with an event at Ripon, Wisconsin, where a 1854 meeting at the Little White Schoolhouse led to the formation of the Republican Party. With former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney by her side, she is expected to appeal to Republican and independent voters, many of whom are turned off by Trump and his nativist MAGA movement, to come to the Democratic fold.
While many moderate Republicans continue to peel away from the GOP, some of the perceived Trump toxicity was tempered by a disciplined debate performance on Tuesday by his running mate JD Vance. But it does not appear to have moved the poll needle. Although dubbed a "masterclass in gaslighting," Vance was so agreeable in the debate, as was his opponent Tim Walz, that the joke was the two could resolve all issues running for the White House on the same ticket.
Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google SearchRajghatta is author of Kamala Harris: Phenomenal Woman