WASHINGTON: Kamala Harris addressed Hurricane Helene on her official Vice President X account, countering claims circulating online that she had not commented on the storm. She made her posts from the @VP account rather than her personal account, @KamalaHarris.
Hurricane Helene struck Florida on September 26 before moving northward, leaving millions without power. On September 30, President Joe Biden reported that there were 100 confirmed fatalities and around 600 individuals unaccounted for.
A post that originated on X and spread widely on Facebook claimed: “Not a single tweet from Kamala about Hurricane Helene. Dozens dead, millions without power, thousands lost their homes. Her silence is deafening.” A few posts included a screenshot of a search for “Hurricane Helene” from Harris’s personal X account (@KamalaHarris). At the time the post was shared on September 30, she had not posted about the hurricane from that account.
However, the day before the hurricane made landfall, Harris did post about it on her vice presidential account, @VP. Three days later, on September 28, she shared another update on X, announcing that she and the president would collaborate with “local leaders in the southeast to provide support.” On the same day, a video featuring her remarks about Hurricane Helene was uploaded to the @KamalaHQ account from a location in Douglas, Arizona.
Harris’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
VERDICT
Missing context. While Kamala Harris did post about Hurricane Helene on X, it was from her @VP and @KamalaHQ campaign accounts, not her personal @KamalaHarris account.
