Upon landing in the city of Valdosta, Georgia, former President Donald Trump immediately began peddling false information regarding the federal response to damage inflicted by Hurricane Helene upon the south.
Trump stated that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp had been unable to reach President Joe Biden, despite the former having made many attempts to do so in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Trump claimed that Biden was “sleeping” and hence has been unreachable.
“He’s been calling the president, he hasn’t been able to get him,” Trump said of Kemp.
Earlier that same day, Kemp himself confirmed to reporters that he had in fact spoken to the President, and that federal efforts to restore Georgia were underway.
“The president just called me yesterday afternoon and I missed him and called him right back and he just said ‘Hey, what do you need?’ And I told him, you know, we’ve got what we need, we’ll work through the federal process,” Kemp said. “He offered if there are other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that.”
This was also noted by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who emphasized that the former President’s claims were false during her daily press briefing on Monday, pointing towards statements from Kemp himself as evidence.
Furthermore, the former President took to social media to tout misinformation pertaining to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Trump falsely stated that Gov. Cooper and the federal government were avoiding helping hurricane-stricken areas which hosted a Republican majority.
“I was also going to stop into North Carolina, which has really been hit hard.” wrote Trump.”I’ll be there shortly, but don’t like the reports that I’m getting about the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas. MAGA!”
We are now heading to Valdosta, Georgia, in order to pay my respects and bring lots of relief material, including fuel, equipment, water, and other things, to the State. Many politicians and Law Enforcement will be there. We’ll be saying hello to Franklin Graham, Burt Jones,…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2024
On Monday, Gov. Cooper shared updates regarding the restoration of western North Carolina after visiting the hurricane-torn region of the state.
“We have emergency responders from 18 states and the federal government joining 92 state swift water rescue teams and more than 700 National Guard soldiers,” said Gov. Cooper in a statement posted to his official Instagram. “The President has offered all federal support, and the head of FEMA has said she is personally staying in N.C. through this response.”
He continued: “This storm has been absolutely catastrophic. The scope of our challenge is unprecedented, but so too is our response, and I want North Carolinians to know that no effort will be spared to save lives and help families, businesses and communities rebuild.”
