President Joe Biden postponed his overseas trip this week because of Hurricane Milton, according to two sources familiar with the planning.
Biden was scheduled to leave for Berlin on Thursday and then travel to Angola in South Africa before returning to the US on October 15. It would be the first time that Biden would travel to the African continent as president.
“Given the expected track and strength of Hurricane Milton, President Biden is postponing his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola to oversee preparations for and response to Hurricane Milton, in addition to the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene in the Southeast White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Biden said he still plans to visit the areas before his term ends.
Meteorologists and government officials have warned of Milton’s impacts and strongly encouraged Floridians in affected areas to evacuate.
Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for failing to immediately assess Helene’s damage on the ground, although they made clear they did not want to cause disruption. Biden and Harris visited North Carolina and Georgia a few days after the storm.
Trump has also made false claims about the government’s response to Helene, including that FEMA had no money because it was being used for “illegal migrants.” As NBC News reported last week, the former president appears to have merged two separate FEMA funds and there is no evidence that the disaster relief funds were used for anything else.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that Trump’s claims were “downright ridiculous and downright false.” During their visits to hurricane-affected areas, the President and Vice President outlined steps the Administration has taken to facilitate recovery efforts on the ground, including deploying Department of Defense troops to assist local responders.
The hurricane is expected to make landfall along the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. Residents there are still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene last month.
Criswell will be in Florida to mentor Milton and coordinate disaster response, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. Acting FEMA Associate Administrator Keith Turi said Monday that the agency “has the resources we need for both the Helene and Hurricane Milton response.”
In Angola, Biden would meet with President João Lourenço to discuss shared priorities and partnerships, including climate security, the clean energy transition and strengthening democracy and civic engagement, the White House said when it announced the trip last month.
The visit, the White House said, “celebrates the evolution of U.S.-Angola relations, underscores the United States’ continued commitment to African partners, and demonstrates how working together to solve shared challenges delivers results for the people of the United States and throughout Africa. continent.”
A German government spokesperson said: “We deeply regret the cancellation, but of course understand it given the situation in Florida. The White House informed us in advance.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
