Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump visited Valdosta, Georgia, on Sept. 30 to assess damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
Arriving with supplies organized by North Carolina-based Samaritan’s Purse, he addressed a crowd of supporters after receiving a briefing from federal, state, and local officials and meeting with business owners.
“We’re here today to stand in complete solidarity with the people of Georgia and with all of those suffering in the terrible aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” he said. “Hurricane Helene turned out to be a big one, like just about the biggest that anyone’s seen.”
In a press conference earlier the same day, President Joe Biden said that more than 3,600 federal personnel had been deployed to assist in the multi-state recovery efforts.
Biden also approved emergency declarations from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Alabama, as well as additional disaster declaration requests from Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina to pay for debris removal and provide direct financial assistance to storm victims.
He said he has not yet visited the disaster zones.
“I’m committed to traveling to impacted areas as soon as possible, but I’ve been told that it would be disruptive if I did it right now,” Biden said. “We will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any of the response assets needed to deal with this crisis.”
Trump said at his meeting with officials in Valdosta: “I spoke with all of the relief people, all of the people that do this for a living and do this at least to help, and they said they’ve never seen one this bad. Valdosta has been ravaged.”
He told the crowd that he came with large semi-trucks filled with relief aid, one tanker truck filled with gasoline, and a couple more on the way, and that he would be coordinating with Elon Musk to get Starlink internet up and running in the area while thousands continue to be without power.
He also said he plans to distribute fuel and supplies in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
“Every part of these communities has been affected by this brutal storm, and countless Georgia cotton and pecan farmers,” he said. ”I love those farmers, and we’re going to take care of the farmers.”
The former president was joined by Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham and several of Georgia’s politicians, including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.).
He praised them and Gov. Brian Kemp for their leadership and also praised the first responders and the American people.
“We have a lot of challenges in this country, more than we should have, frankly, but the American people are very strong and very smart,” he said. ”Working together, we'll overcome these hardships.
“We'll endure. We will rebuild Valdosta and every other town that has been so badly hit and will merge stronger, more united, and more prosperous than ever before.”
Still, he said, people will need more federal assistance.
Georgia is a crucial battleground state for Trump and Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump acknowledged that the 2024 presidential election is less than two months away.
“But,“ he said in his address, ”in a time like this, when a crisis hits, when our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters. We’re not talking about politics now. We have to all get together and get this solved.”
The former president called for a moment of silence for those who lost their lives during the storm. Then he turned the podium over to Graham to lead the gathering in prayer.
