Trump’s campaign swerves toward Hurricane Helene-hit Georgia

Valdosta, Georgia: Republican statesmanlike nominee Donald Trump successful the past fewer days has utilized the harm wrought by Hurricane Helene to onslaught Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, suggesting she and President Joe Biden are playing authorities with the tempest — thing helium was accused of doing erstwhile president.

Trump repeatedly lied connected Tuesday (AEST) astir the national effect to Hurricane Helene, contempt claiming not to beryllium politicising the catastrophe arsenic helium toured hard-hit areas successful southbound Georgia.

Republican statesmanlike nominee erstwhile President Donald Trump walks extracurricular a furnishings store arsenic helium visits Valdosta, Georgia, a municipality impacted by Hurricane Helene.Credit: AP

More than 100 deaths crossed a half-dozen states were attributed to the almighty tempest that slammed into Florida precocious connected Thursday (US time) earlier cutting a destructive way done Georgia and into North and South Carolina.

Up to 600 radical stay missing, US Homeland Security advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall said astatine the White House, though she noted that the numbers could alteration arsenic responders scope much locations.

Upon landing successful Valdosta, Georgia, erstwhile president Trump claimed that Biden was “sleeping” and not responding to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who helium said was “calling the president and hasn’t been capable to get him”.

The Republican nominee repeated the assertion astatine an lawsuit with reporters aft being told Kemp said helium had spoken to Biden.

Democratic statesmanlike nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks astatine FEMA office successful Washington.Credit: AP

White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre pushed backmost against Trump’s assertion that Biden has been unresponsive during her regular property briefing, noting that Kemp himself told reporters helium spoke to Biden connected Sunday and that the president asked him what Georgia needed.

Sherwood-Randall, the president’s homeland information adviser, said Biden made wide that helium offered Kemp “anything” Georgia needed for its effect to the tempest and remained disposable to the governor.

“So, if the politician would similar to talk to the president again, of course, the president volition instrumentality his call,” Sherwood-Randall said.

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Trump said connected Monday helium spoke to billionaire Elon Musk astir getting Starlink net entree to areas affected by Hurricane Helene, which has torn done the US Southeast, sidesplitting much than 100 radical crossed six states.Musk has endorsed the erstwhile US president successful the November 5 elections, successful which Trump faces Harris.

“I conscionable spoke to Elon,” Trump said successful his remarks. “We privation to get Starlink hooked up due to the fact that they person nary connection whatsoever and Elon volition ever travel through.”

Trump added: “We are going to effort and get the Starlink successful determination arsenic soon arsenic possible.”

Starlink, Musk’s outer broadband company, is simply a portion of SpaceX. Starlink controls astir two-thirds of the world’s progressive satellites and is the lone high-bandwidth net strategy covering the full planet.

The White House antecedently announced that Biden spoke by telephone connected Monday (AEST) with Kemp and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, arsenic good arsenic Scott Matheson, politician of Valdosta, Georgia, and Florida exigency absorption manager John Louk.

People enactment up to perceive erstwhile president Donald Trump talk extracurricular a furnishings store successful Valdosta, Georgia, which was deed hard by Hurricane Helene.Credit: AP

Kemp confirmed Monday greeting that helium spoke to Biden the nighttime before.

In summation to being humanitarian crises, earthy disasters tin make governmental tests for elected officials, peculiarly successful the closing weeks of a statesmanlike campaign. The hardest-hit states of North Carolina and Georgia are besides 2 governmental battlegrounds.

While the White House highlighted Biden’s telephone to Kemp and others, the president faced questions astir his determination to walk the play astatine his formation location successful Delaware – alternatively than the White House – to show the storm.

“I was commanding it,” Biden told reporters aft delivering remarks astatine the White House connected the national government’s response. “I was connected the telephone for astatine slightest 2 hours yesterday and the time earlier arsenic well. I commanded it. It’s called a telephone.”

A household arrives astatine their flooded location successful the aftermath of Hurricane Helene successful Crystal River, Florida.Credit: AP

Meanwhile, the vice president chopped abbreviated her run travel connected Monday to instrumentality to Washington for a Federal Emergency Management Agency briefing.

Trump, penning connected his societal media level connected Monday, besides claimed without grounds that the national authorities and North Carolina’s Democratic politician were “going retired of their mode to not assistance radical successful Republican areas”. Asheville, which was devastated by the storm, is solidly Democratic, arsenic is overmuch of Buncombe County, which surrounds it.

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When asked by the Associated Press connected Monday if helium was acrophobic that his sojourn to Georgia was taking distant instrumentality enforcement resources that could beryllium utilized for catastrophe response, Trump said: “No.” He said his run alternatively “brought galore wagons of resources”.

The Trump run partnered with the Christian humanitarian assistance organisation Samaritan’s Purse to bring trucks of fuel, food, h2o and different captious supplies to Georgia, said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s nationalist property secretary.

During Trump’s word arsenic president, helium visited galore catastrophe zones, including the aftermaths of hurricanes, tornadoes and shootings. But the trips sometimes elicited contention specified arsenic erstwhile helium tossed insubstantial towels to cheering residents successful Puerto Rico successful 2017 successful the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

It besides took until weeks earlier the statesmanlike predetermination successful 2020 for Trump’s medication to merchandise $US13 cardinal successful assistance for the territory. A national authorities watchdog recovered that officials hampered an probe into delays successful assistance delivery.

In different 2019 incident, Trump medication officials admonished immoderate meteorologists for tweeting that Alabama was not threatened by Hurricane Dorian, contradicting the then-president. Trump would famously show a representation altered with a achromatic Sharpie pen to bespeak Alabama could beryllium successful the way of the storm.

The White House said Harris would sojourn impacted areas “as soon arsenic it is imaginable without disrupting exigency effect operations”. She besides spoke with Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina and received a briefing from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell portion travelling.

AP, Reuters

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