WASHINGTON (AP) – Add Mother Nature to President Joe Biden’s plate crisis stack.
A month after work and focused on the coronavirus, Biden sees his disaster management skills being tested after winter storms flooded Texas, Oklahoma and neighboring states in an unusual deep freeze that left millions shivering. in houses that lost heat and energy and in many, water.
At least 59 deaths in the United States have been blamed for the unstable storm.
Biden took office on January 20 promising to tackle a series of cervical crises, starting with the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on the economy. He addressed systemic racism and climate change as top priorities. And now it is battling storms that have not only endangered Americans, but have also delayed the delivery and administration of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines.
Biden said Friday that he hopes to travel to Texas next week, but does not want his presence and the presidential entourage to accompany him to distract the recovery.
“They’re working like hell to take care of their people,” Biden said of Texas officials. He said he would make a decision early next week on travel.
Biden, who offered himself during the campaign as an experienced and empathetic candidate the nation needed at the time, is working on several fronts to address the situation and to avoid repeating the mistakes of predecessors who were left wrapped up by inappropriate or insensitive responses. . in times of disaster.
Part of the job of being president is to respond to the destruction left by earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters, or events such as deadly mass shootings or even acts of terrorism.
Some have handled these situations better than others.
George W. Bush received praise for his leadership after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but stumbled during his administration’s response to the humanitarian disaster in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. attacked the Gulf Coast four years later.
Barack Obama said he should have foreseen the setback he got to go to the golf course just after condemning the beheading of an American journalist kidnapped by Islamist militants in 2014. Obama was on vacation at Martha’s Vineyard at that time. moment.
Donald Trump was criticized for throwing rolls of paper towels at a crowd in Puerto Rico who had endured the hurricane on Hurricane Maria Island in 2017. He advocated throwing in towels, saying people “had fun “.
Bill Clinton, who famously stated during the 1992 presidential campaign that “I feel your pain,” was natural in connecting with disaster victims.
This week, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas demonstrated how quickly a misstep during a crisis can turn into a public relations disaster for a politician.
Cruz was attacked for traveling to Mexico while his constituencies were suffering from power, heat and running water. Her explanation, that her daughters pushed for the getaway because they were not in school, was especially criticized. Cruz later said the trip was a mistake.
Biden has tweeted about Texas and the other affected states, while the White House has issued numerous statements aimed at proving that the federal government is at the forefront of the situation.
The president receives regular updates from his staff and has declared states of emergency in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. He said Friday that he will soon declare a major disaster in the state of Texas and that he has asked federal agencies to identify additional resources to deal with the suffering.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also sent dozens of generators and supplies, including fuel, water, blankets and ready-to-eat food, to the affected areas.
Biden has spoken with the governors of the seven states hardest hit by the winter weather. He tweeted at your photo on the phone with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas.
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, a staunch supporter of Trump, was quick to praise Biden for the swift action in a disaster statement.
After speaking with Biden by phone earlier this week, Stitt specifically thanked the president for “taking the time to get in touch this afternoon and offer federal government help to the Oklahomans. We had a very strong call.” productive and I hope to work together to find solutions as we recover from this historic storm ”.
Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, said Biden is “very fit” to deal with the disaster because of his decades of service in the U.S. Senate and as vice president and for his “real concern for people.”
“You have to show empathy right away,” Perry said in an interview. “It’s important for a president to go to a battered place, but be careful of the footprint. He doesn’t want to make things worse. ”
Biden, in case he decides to visit Texas next week, could also take advantage of the trip to claim that climate change is real and should not be dealt with and that the state could do things like winter its power plants to be better. prepared for future storms. , Said Perry.
But you should be careful not to do it in a quarrelsome way.
“We know he cares about climate change, and that’s a way to convince people,” Perry said.
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Associated Press writer Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.