Southeastern United States has been hit by strong hurricanes Helenie and Milton in recent days, causing heavy casualties and property damage. As the presidential election approaches, both Republicans and Democrats want to extract more political capital from disaster relief, but they are like a fire in the wind, generating a flood of hurricane-related disinformation and mutual accusations, adding to the disaster.
Category 4 Hurricane Helenne, which made landfall in Florida on September 26, is the most devastating hurricane since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, affecting six southeastern states, killing more than 230 people and causing significant property damage. Hurricane Milton also hit Florida with more than a dozen deaths.
On October 11, in Tampa, Florida, United States, trees were uprooted after Hurricane Milton transited. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Ryan · Brock)
The hurricane struck at a time when the presidential election was deadlocked, and both Republicans and Democrats saw an "opportunity" in the storm and hoped to use it to gain a lead in the election. The "political power" of hurricanes in United States should not be underestimated: the failure to respond to Hurricane Katrina was one of the main reasons for the Republican Party's defeat in the 2006 midterm elections, and former President Barack Obama's effective response to Hurricane Sandy in 2012 helped him win re-election.
Rumors and accusations surrounding the hurricane flooded social media: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which oversees disaster and reconstruction, misappropriated disaster funds to house illegal immigrants, emergency services were to expropriate victims' property, and federal relief funds would not give more than $750 per victim...... There are even rumors that it is the Democratic-dominated White House that controls the hurricanes and deliberately hits Republican-dominated areas.
United States media traced the source of this information, believing that some of it came from Republican presidential candidate Trump and some Republican congressmen. The logic is that this information could spark dissatisfaction and anger against the current government, leaving the ruling Democratic Party passive in the general election. There have also been reports of people hesitant to evacuate before the hurricane, reluctant to apply for help after the disaster, and even threatening emergency and disaster relief personnel. The Republican Party responded that these media are all controlled by the Democratic Party and have no credibility at all.
On October 11, in Tampa, Florida, United States, trees were uprooted after Hurricane Milton transited. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Ryan · Brock)
In order to reverse the passive situation, the Biden administration recently launched a round of public opinion offensive, and for the first time opened an account on the social media platform Reddit to update the government's response to hurricanes and disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a dedicated list of relevant rumors on its website and clarifies them one by one. The Democratic Party also criticized the Republican Party for its accusations of being "reckless, irresponsible and ruthless" and that the rumor-mongers were "unworthy of being United States."
Disaster relief funding is another battleground in the bipartisan game. United States Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro ·Mayorkas recently warned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not have enough funds to cover spending throughout the hurricane season this year, but the speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Johnson, has no intention of recalling adjourned members of Congress to pass a new budget. The vast majority of U.S. House members are currently busy running for re-election, and by the time the recess ends, after the November elections.
On October 11, in Tampa, Florida, United States, a number of cars were damaged after Hurricane Milton crossed the border. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Ryan · Brock)
Before Hurricane Milton made landfall, Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Harris and Florida Governor and Republican DeSantis had a verbal altercation over the latter's "refusal to answer the phone." The former accused the latter of deliberately not answering her condolence calls, apparently playing a "political game"; The latter responded, "I didn't know she called me." According to United States, DeSantis' team said Harris did try to contact DeSantis, but they believed Harris's move "appeared to have a political purpose" and therefore did not contact her.
The hurricane injected new uncertainty into the stalemate election. In addition to the suffering of displacement, the people in the affected areas also have to endure the "disaster relief politics", which is really difficult to understand.
Source: Xinhuanet