A deadly hurricane, a massive labor strike and wars raging around the globe are among the crises engulfing the Biden-Harris administration one month before the election.
Former President Donald Trump is flipping the script on Democrats, who for months have warned voters that he would bring chaos if he returns to the White House.
“It’s a choice between freedom and chaos,” Ms. Harris told her audience at a rally in Milwaukee this summer.
Her argument isn’t resonating with voters as war erupts in the Middle East, illegal immigrants swarm across the southern border, and rural residents in Georgia and North Carolina beg for help from the Biden-Harris administration in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
President Biden toured the disaster area in North Carolina by helicopter on Wednesday as the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided aid and rescued people stranded by flooding.
The president and Ms. Harris have been criticized for waiting to visit and failing to provide enough resources as taxpayers spend millions of dollars to shelter illegal immigrants and send $175 billion in aid to Ukraine.
“We’ve given them all we have,” Mr. Biden said this week when asked whether more resources would pour into devastated areas of North Carolina and Georgia.
Mr. Biden has abdicated an active role in resolving a port worker strike that shut down all East Coast shipping on Monday. The walkout threatens economic calamity in the coming weeks. Instead, Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris have endorsed the strike, which is poised to disrupt the nation’s supply chain, leaving store shelves empty and sidelining thousands of workers.
“Presidential campaigns are usually decided by the two P’s — Peace & Prosperity — and right now we have neither,” said Jim McLaughlin, who polls for the Trump campaign. “The world and country are on fire, and where it’s not on fire, it’s underwater.”
Ms. Harris, he said, “can’t run away from it.”
Polls show Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris nearly tied in the key battleground states that are likely to decide the election.
Data shows voters are worried about the state of the nation and the world and do not trust Ms. Harris on the top issues.
A New York Times/Siena Poll in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin asked voters their “biggest concern” about the two presidential candidates.
Among voter concerns about Ms. Harris, 13% cited handling of the economy and immigration. Less than 2% expressed the same concerns about Mr. Trump.
The economy and immigration rank the highest among voter priorities, and the polls suggest Ms. Harris cannot separate herself from judgment about the Biden administration’s performance.
A staggering 60% of voters said the country is headed in the wrong direction, compared with 31% who said it is on the right track.
Mr. Trump has sought to win over discontented voters and portray Ms. Harris as the “chaos candidate.”
At campaign rallies, the former president blames Ms. Harris for allowing criminals to cross the border illegally and commit further crimes in U.S. communities.
“Ultraliberal Kamala Harris will deliver crime, chaos, mayhem and death to our country,” Mr. Trump told rally attendees in July in St. Cloud, Minnesota. “I will restore law and order, justice in America.”
During Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio seized on the various problems that have festered under the Biden administration.
“I know that a lot of you are worried about the chaos in the world and the feeling that the American dream is unattainable,” Mr. Vance told viewers.
Ms. Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, tried to portray Mr. Trump as ill-equipped to handle the eruption in the Middle East or the war between Ukraine and Russia. He described Mr. Trump as “fickle” and “dangerous when the world is this dangerous.” Ms. Harris, he said, delivers calm and steady leadership.
Mr. Vance retorted that the ballistic missiles Iran fired at Israel this week were funded with the $100 billion in Iranian assets the Biden-Harris administration unfroze after Mr. Trump left office.
Mr. Trump “actually delivered stability in the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence,” Mr. Vance said.
He said Mr. Trump would provide “peace through strength” and the better leadership that voters are seeking.
Ms. Harris interrupted her campaign schedule Wednesday to travel to flood-ravaged areas of Georgia. The White House said she also planned to visit North Carolina. Both are swing states that could decide the winner of the presidential election.
Mr. Trump was in Georgia on Monday to distribute supplies. He criticized Mr. Biden for not doing enough to help those in devastated areas. Mr. Trump falsely claimed that Mr. Biden had not reached out to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Mr. Biden called Mr. Trump’s comments “irresponsible.” Mr. Kemp said he spoke with Mr. Biden and the state had received the resources it needed from FEMA.
“He offered if there are other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that,” Mr. Kemp said.
North Carolina-based Democratic consultant Morgan Jackson said voters won’t reject Ms. Harris over the flood response. Residents in hard-hit Asheville and other devastated towns say water and other urgently needed supplies are not arriving fast enough, but the flow of massive government assistance now may help Ms. Harris.
“She will reap more benefits from that than anything else because the federal government is being so proactive,” Mr. Jackson said. “They appreciate the government coming in and helping people. That could give her a little boost.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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