President Biden is postponing his trip to Germany and Angola because of the dual challenges of cleaning up Hurricane Helene’s devastation and preparing for Hurricane Milton, according to the White House.
Mr. Biden was supposed to depart for Europe on Thursday, but he reconsidered “given the projected trajectory and strength of Hurricane Milton,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Mr. Biden had been scheduled to meet with German leaders to discuss trade cooperation and the war in Ukraine before heading to Luanda, Angola, to promote a transcontinental rail network that will run from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
Yet challenges are mounting at home. Rescue teams in western North Carolina are still searching for missing residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which wiped out mountain towns and washed away the arts district of Asheville.
Hurricane Milton is swirling as a Category 4 storm in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to wallop the Tampa area late Wednesday.
Mr. Biden, speaking at the White House, said the storm could be the worst one to hit Florida in a century.
“Evacuate now, now, now,” he said. “It’s a matter of life and death.”
The Biden-Harris administration is under intense pressure to respond effectively to the storms given the looming election and Vice President Kamala Harris’ role as the Democratic nominee and Mr. Biden’s chief governing partner.
Asked if Ms. Harris had been helpful during the storm crises, Mr. Biden nodded and said, “Yes.”
Ms. Jean-Pierre was asked Monday if Mr. Biden planned to put off his overseas trip, but she said there were no changes to announce.
That changed by Tuesday.
The press secretary said Mr. Biden needed to “oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton, in addition to the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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