Former president Donald Trump falsely claimed that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp could not contact the President Joe Biden Discuss the effects of Hurricane Helene on his state.
Trump said at a news conference at a furniture store in Valdosta, Georgia: “He’s calling the president, but he can’t get him.
Earlier in the day, Kemp, a Republican, said Biden initially missed the call but called back and the two were able to connect Sunday evening.
“He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ “Camp told reporters. “And I told him, you know, we got what we needed. We will work through the federal process.”
Kemp said Biden should call him directly if he needs any additional resources. Kemp said he was “playing phone tag” with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, but praised the bipartisan response.
Biden blasted Trump for the false claim on Monday.
“He’s lying and the governor told him he’s lying,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office. “I don’t know why he’s doing this. And the reason I’m so angry – I don’t care what he says about me, I care what he says to people in need. We’re not doing everything we can.”
“So that’s just not true and it’s irresponsible,” Biden said of Trump. The president also said that he plans to do so Explore storm damage in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Harris told reporters at FEMA headquarters that he has been in contact with Kemp as well as North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and other local officials.
“I shared with them that we’re going to do everything we can to help communities respond and recover. And I shared with them that I plan to be on the ground as soon as possible. But as soon as possible without disrupting any emergency response operations because it’s the most should be a high priority and the first order of business,” Harris said.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Florida Panhandle Thursday night before moving into Georgia, leaving more than 500,000 customers without power. It then continued north, causing record flooding in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.
The death toll now NBC News estimates that there are 116 in six states. A third of the deaths were reported in North Carolina. The number is expected to increase as recovery and search operations continue.
Before falsely saying that Kemp and Biden had not spoken, Trump acknowledged that the storm had hit in the weeks leading up to a major presidential election, but said he was not thinking about politics.
“In a time like this, when crisis strikes, when our fellow citizens are crying out in need, none of that matters,” Trump said. “We don’t talk about politics”
Trump, however, took to social media to take an overtly political shot at Harris, who posted a post about being briefed by the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on X, accompanied by a photo.
Republicans scoffed at the photo, claiming the sheets of paper looked blank and the headphones weren’t plugged into anything.
“Another FAKE and STAGLI photo from someone who has no idea what he’s doing” Trump wrote. “You have to connect the cable to the phone to work!”
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump he said the federal government and Democratic governors, including Cooper, are “doing everything they can to not help people in Republican districts.”
When NBC News asked Trump about those words after a press conference in Valdosta, he said, “Just look,” but did not answer further questions.
Aside from Kemp’s false claim that he was unable to contact Biden, Trump’s brief comments focused mostly on the trucks that came with him, including water and fuel.
“We brought a lot … trailers, lots of trailers,” he said.
Trump also directly warned Elon Musk, with whom he said he spoke directly, about the effort to build Starlink portable internet devices owned by SpaceX, an aerospace company run by Musk.
“I just talked to Elon. We want to join Starlink,” Trump said. “They have nothing to do with each other”
Local lawmakers in Georgia praised Trump for his visit, but some said they wished he would hold off on visiting the region until order is restored from the storm’s devastation.
Scott James Matheson, the nonpartisan mayor of Valdosta, said he would prefer Trump to arrive later in the week to allow emergency operations to last longer. Still, she said she’s “pretty excited” and “loves the attention and the help it brings.”
“Wednesday, Thursday or Friday I’d love to,” he told NBC News ahead of Trump’s visit, adding, “We’re not going to say no.”
“We’ll get over it and get right back to work,” he said.
However, he added that it would be “a mile better” if Trump left the city with “a truckload of water, a tanker full.”
Matheson added that Biden called him Sunday night and “offered his support at every level.”
“He said there’s nothing you can ask for because we’re not going to provide it,” Matheson said. “He assured me that nothing was difficult. It was just a really nice supportive phone call.”
Meanwhile, state Rep. John LaHood, a Republican who represents the Valdosta area, said he was “good” at Trump’s visit — even if it ordered resources that could be devoted to emergency operations.
“I think it brings more attention to the seriousness of the problems here,” he said before the trip. “I understand that resources will be needed, but it will be a quick trip.”
LaHood said he has yet to hear from Biden, Harris or their teams, but said he wouldn’t mind a visit from them either.
State House Majority Whip James Burchett, a Republican who represents a district northeast of Valdosta, praised Trump for “being here and communicating about this devastating storm.”
Burchett said he hadn’t heard from Biden or Harris or their teams, but “100% supports them coming down.”
“I welcome any help at this time,” he said. “This is not a political issue. We need every possible asset.”
Harris canceled a planned campaign stop in Las Vegas on Monday and flew to Washington for a FEMA briefing on the hurricane.
Officials in North Carolina were also clear in asking national politicians to postpone their prospective visit.
Cooper’s spokeswoman, Sadie Weiner, said she spoke with both Biden and Harris over the weekend and told them not to come “immediately.”
Weiner said the message was “received positively” by both Biden and Harris, adding that they discussed the timing of the visit later.
Anderson Clayton, chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, retweeted a message on X on Saturday saying, “There is no reason for the presidential motorcade to be in a disaster zone while search and rescue is still underway.”
Clayton did not respond to questions from NBC News.