Former US President and Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump took to social media, accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of staging a photograph that showed her on a call with officials regarding recovery efforts in the wake of hurricane Helene which continues to devastate parts of the southeastern United States.
The photograph, posted on Harris’s X account on Sunday, depicts the vice president aboard Air Force Two, an iPhone on the table before her and an earpiece in one ear, as she scribbled notes on a piece of paper.The image accompanied a message outlining the administration’s support for affected areas.
“I was just briefed by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on the latest developments about the ongoing impacts of Hurricane Helene. We also discussed our Administration’s continued actions to support emergency response and recovery,” Harris wrote in her post. She added that she had spoken with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper about the state’s efforts to manage the crisis.
But it wasn’t the recovery efforts that caught Trump’s eye—it was the apparent disconnect between the vice president’s earpiece and the phone in front of her.
“Another FAKE and STAGED photo from someone who has no clue what she is doing,” Trump tweeted. “You have to plug the cord into the phone for it to work! Biden and Harris abandoned Americans in Afghanistan. They sacrificed Americans to an Open Border, and now, they have left Americans to drown in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and elsewhere in the South. Under this Administration, Americans always come last, because we have “leaders” who have no idea how to lead!”
For Trump, the incident provided an opportunity not only to criticise Harris but to draw broader parallels between the hurricane response and what he sees as the administration’s broader failures, from foreign policy to border security.
The human cost of the disaster is substantial, with over 100 lives lost and millions facing the daunting task of rebuilding in the aftermath of the storm. Power outages and destroyed infrastructure have left communities across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and beyond struggling to recover.
The Biden-Harris administration has highlighted its commitment to relief efforts, with over 3,300 federal personnel deployed to affected regions for search and rescue operations, power restoration, and more. Harris, whose campaign plans were disrupted by the disaster, cut her trip short to return to Washington and monitor the federal response.
President Joe Biden announced that he had communicated with the governors of Georgia and North Carolina following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene on their states and expressed his intention to visit the state later in the week, likely on Wednesday or Thursday. Furthermore, he indicated that he “may have to request” Congress to convene a special session to approve additional funding to support those affected by the hurricane’s aftermath.