Former President Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Friday made their first public look collectively in years, placing apart simmering tensions to spotlight how Hurricane Helene has devastated the state.
The 2 leaders toured storm injury locally of Evans, assembly with native officers and households and providing assist for these impacted by the storm. Whereas Trump has attacked Kemp as just lately as August, he supplied variety phrases for the governor as he spoke about restoration efforts.
“Your governor is doing a fantastic job, I will tell you that,” Trump mentioned in entrance of a stack of provides, together with diapers, bottled water and paper towels.
Requested particularly in regards to the state of his relationship with Kemp, Trump known as it “great.”
“We work together. We’ve always worked together very well,” he mentioned.
Republicans have been eager to see Trump and Kemp patch issues up given the significance of Georgia in November’s election. Trump narrowly misplaced the state in 2020, and polls present him locked in a decent race there with Vice President Harris.
The previous president spent the weeks following the 2020 election pressuring Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to problem the outcomes.
Trump supported a main challenger towards Kemp, former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), in 2022, however Kemp defeated him and gained the overall election by a wider margin than he did in 2018.
Trump repeatedly attacked Kemp at an Atlanta rally in August, leaving Republicans scratching their heads as to why he wasn’t targeted extra on Harris, who had just lately risen to the highest of the Democratic ticket.
Kemp instructed CNN he didn’t vote for Trump in Georgia’s presidential main in late Might, although he has endorsed Trump within the normal election.
Friday’s go to marked the second time this week Trump traveled to Georgia to have a look at storm injury. He traveled to Valdosta on Monday and was not joined by Kemp.
Kemp instructed reporters on Friday at the least 33 Georgians had died as a direct results of Hurricane Helene, and that the storm had worn out a big share of the state’s crops.
Trump touted his efforts to encourage Elon Musk to supply Starlink satellites to assist restore communications in hard-hit areas, and he cited donations from distinguished businessmen like Larry Ellison and Steve Witkoff to assist with the restoration.
The previous president attacked the Biden administration’s response to Helene as “terrible,” repeating a false declare that has grown distinguished amongst Republicans that the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) spent catastrophe reduction funds to help migrants.
The White Home earlier Friday known as such claims “poison,” and argued it was distracting from ongoing restoration efforts and stopping these in want from getting the assistance they wanted.
Kemp earlier within the week expressed his appreciation for the position the federal authorities has performed in responding to Hurricane Helene, contradicting feedback from Trump, who claimed Monday that the governor had hassle reaching Biden.
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