Vice President Kamala Harris faced sharp criticism after announcing $157 million in aid for Lebanon, as Americans still struggling without power and water from Hurricane Helene questioned the administration’s priorities.
As the death toll from Hurricane Helene climbs to nearly 250 and hundreds of thousands of Americans remain without power or water, Vice President Kamala Harris sparked criticism with a post on X (formerly Twitter) announcing $157 million in additional U.S. aid for Lebanon. The funds, earmarked for essential needs such as food, shelter, and sanitation, came just a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed the aid, part of ongoing efforts to address the humanitarian crisis stemming from conflicts involving Israel and Hezbollah.
"The people of Lebanon are facing an increasingly dire humanitarian situation," Harris wrote, adding that this aid package brings U.S. assistance to Lebanon to over $385 million in the past year. However, her remarks were met with backlash, especially from Americans in hurricane-ravaged regions still grappling with the devastation left by Helene, including communities in western North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Critics swiftly voiced their outrage on social media, accusing Harris of neglecting the suffering at home. “It’s almost impossible to take this comment as anything other than an intentional act of publicly broadcast hatred and derision for Americans in Appalachia right now,” William Wolfe, Executive Director of the Center for Baptist Leadership, wrote. Texas Governor Greg Abbott went further, calling the vice president’s move “Kamala’s Katrina,” comparing it to the infamous U.S. government response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Republican lawmakers also joined the chorus. “Americans are in need and we should take care of our own first,” tweeted Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN). Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) sarcastically suggested that if North Carolina and Florida were renamed "Lebanon," disaster relief might come faster, implying Harris prioritized foreign crises over domestic ones.
As federal aid for Hurricane Helene victims lagged behind expectations, frustration mounted in affected states. FEMA announced $45 million in aid for Helene recovery, with $17 million directed to North Carolina, $23 million to Florida, and smaller amounts to other states. Still, the gap between aid for foreign nations and domestic disaster recovery has only fueled public discontent, especially as towns like Asheville and Chimney Rock, North Carolina, continue to struggle with power outages, flooding, and infrastructure damage.
The criticism intensified after a similar controversy involving USAID Administrator Samantha Power, who highlighted U.S. support for Ukraine’s energy needs during a time when millions of Americans were without power following the hurricane. With mounting frustration at what many see as the administration’s foreign focus, Vice President Harris's aid announcement only deepened the divide, prompting calls to “read the room” and focus on Americans in need first.
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