Title: Samantha Power’s Tone-Deaf Video on USAID Efforts Amid Hurricane Helene Impact.
Samantha Power, the Biden-Harris administration’s United States Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator, recently posted a video that has been criticized as tone-deaf. The video explains how Americans are helping Ukraine keep their lights and heat on while nearly 700,000 American homes and businesses suffer from power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Power’s video was filmed at an energy substation in the western region of Ukraine. She highlights that this substation provides enough power for around 500,000 residents. However, she notes that Putin’s forces destroyed a critical auto transformer there back in 2022.
In response to potential winter threats from Russian attacks on infrastructure, USAID is doubling its investments in replacing damaged or destroyed auto transformers and providing protection for the remaining energy infrastructure. With support from American taxpayers, USAID is working alongside Ukrainians to ensure that lights remain on and heat continues to flow during this winter season.
While this video was intended to highlight USAID’s efforts in Ukraine, it has drawn criticism from Americans affected by Hurricane Helene. Nearly 700,000 homes and businesses in the United States are without power following the storm. South Carolina and North Carolina have been hit particularly hard with more than 260,000 and over 215,000 customers without power, respectively. In Georgia, over 190,000 customers are out of power, while more than 10,000 in Virginia face the same issue.
The backlash against Power’s video was evident when photographer and artist Anna Hitrova from Asheville, North Carolina, one of the towns hit hardest by the storm, voiced her frustration. She noted that mountain communities will be without power far longer than East Asheville where she lives.
Others also criticized Power’s video, including Richard Grenell, acting director of national intelligence under former President Donald Trump. He called out the USAID administrator for being “tone-deaf,” highlighting that infrastructure in Asheville, North Carolina, was wiped out, and over 200 Americans had died as a result of Hurricane Helene.