Trump heads to hurricane-hit North Carolina, Harris in swing state push

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina: Former United States president Donald Trump hits the campaign trail in hurricane-hit North Carolina on Monday (Oct 21), having heavily criticised the government's disaster response after at least 124 people were killed there by storm Helene.

Emergency services are still distributing food and water in the worst-affected parts of the state almost a month after Helene slammed into southeastern US, leaving more than 240 dead in its wake, according to an AFP tally.

Trump will hold a campaign rally in the city of Greenville, while his Democratic rival Kamala Harris is set to address supporters in other battleground states Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The two candidates are locked in a neck-and-neck race for the White House with just over two weeks until Election Day. Polls show the contest is too close to call, including in the seven swing states that decide US elections.

In North Carolina, emergency services continue to address the storm's aftermath, with urban search-and-rescue teams still at work in some areas.

On Sunday, the White House said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had "approved more than US$300 million in assistance across the state, including US$118 million in individual assistance to more than 87,600 households".

The immediate aftermath of the storm left many without access to power, drinking water or shelter, leading Trump to sharply criticise US President Joe Biden and his vice president, Harris.

Biden and Harris have rejected the allegations, accusing Trump of spreading misinformation about the response for political gain.

"There's been a reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies," Biden said after Helene and before a second major storm, Milton, slammed into Florida.

As of Sunday, power had been restored to most of North Carolina, barring about 5,000 customers in remote western counties, according to poweroutage.us.

Schools are due to reopen in some of the hardest hit areas this week, and municipal services say water supply has been restored in many areas - although some continue to face "boil water" advisories.

Shelley Hughes, 64, lives near the city of Asheville, and said as of Friday the water at her residence was "still brownish (in) color".

"It still kind of looks like, I guess, for lack of a better word, like a war zone," she said of her town of Swannanoa.

Harris and Trump are virtually tied in the battleground states, according to a New York Times polling average, and North Carolina is no different - Harris stood at 49 per cent in the state, to Trump's 48 per cent, on Sunday.Early voting is already underway in several states, including North Carolina, where more than a million people had cast their ballots as of Sunday, according to official data.

"DESERVE BETTER"

Harris on Sunday appeared to acknowledge the closeness of the race, saying she would leave "nothing on the field" in her push to win the election.

The 60-year-old - who celebrated her birthday on Sunday - also lambasted Trump's increasingly disparaging language on the trail, saying in an interview on MSNBC that Americans "deserve so much better".

"Donald Trump should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States. He has not earned the right," Harris said.

Trump's campaign has painted a dark image of a US gripped by crime and illegal immigration, describing some undocumented migrants as animals and accusing them of "invading" the country.

At campaign events, he has increasingly gone off-script, using bizarre and sometimes expletive-laden language - often to the delight of his supporters.

Harris - almost 18 years Trump's junior - has increasingly drawn attention to the former president's age, raising questions about his fitness to serve for a second term.

On Sunday, Trump insisted his age was not slowing him down, telling a Pennsylvania town hall that "we've had some of the greatest leaders in world history that are in their 80s".