Ex-Obama Adviser Says Hurricane Could Help Harris

While filming an episode for his podcast, a former Obama adviser seemed hopeful that catastrophic Hurricane Helene could benefit Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, arguing that the suburban voters in blue Asheville would be more savvy than their rural counterparts following the storm’s devastation, and be more likely to make and follow through with plans to vote.

Fox News reports:

Former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod argued that Vice President Kamala Harris voters will be clever enough to navigate voting in the wake of the devastation from Hurricane Helene, while saying that rural Trump voters will have a harder time getting to the polls.

Axelrod made the claim during an episode of his podcast “Hacks on Tap” that aired Wednesday, predicting that liberal voters in Asheville, North Carolina – a predominantly blue area in the state – will “figure out a way to vote” more so than conservatives in the storm’s aftermath. 

He said, “Those voters in Asheville are – they’re, you know, the kind of voters that will figure out a way to vote. You know, they’re upscale, kind of liberal voters, and they’re probably going to figure out a way to vote. I’m not sure a bunch of these folks who’ve had their homes and lives destroyed elsewhere in western North Carolina – in the mountains there – are going to be as easy to wrangle for the Trump campaign.” 

He received widespread backlash on social media, with conservative commentators and journalists pointing to it as evidence of widespread apathy and disdain for Helene’s victims, suggesting partisan political motives.

Fox News continues:

Communities in North Carolina – which Axelrod noted is the second-most rural state in the country – were hit especially hard by the effects of Hurricane Helene. Catastrophic flooding has destroyed roads and bridges, cutting off communities from getting much-needed aid.

As of Thursday, the death toll among the six states most affected by Helene – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee – sits at 170. Disaster-response teams fear that number will climb as they regain access to communities isolated by the storm.

The Biden-Harris administration has been widely condemned for their handling of Hurricane Helene. Biden didn’t show up to an affected area until a staggering five days after the storm had passed — two days longer than George Bush waited to visit Hurricane Katrina victims in 2004, drawing severe criticism. When he was questioned about what would be offered to victims, he said the federal government had given all they had and it was later discovered that FEMA had spent critical funds intended for natural disasters on migrants. Harris posted a picture, implying that she was on a phone call about Hurricane Helene, but it was pointed out that the wired headphones in her ear weren’t connected to the phone, and the papers in front of her were blank. She was later accused of visiting victims as a photo opportunity.