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VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — Donald Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods Monday about the federal response to Hurricane Helene despite claiming not to be politicizing the disaster as he toured hard-hit areas in south Georgia.
The former president and Republican nominee claimed upon landing in Valdosta that President Joe Biden was “sleeping” and not responding to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who he said was “calling the president and hasn’t been able to get him.” He repeated the claim at an event with reporters after being told Kemp said he had spoken to Biden.
Biden accused Trump of “lying” about federal contacts with Georgia officials.
“He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying,” Biden said Monday.
“I don’t care about what he says about me, but I care what he what he communicates to people that are in need,” Biden continued. “He implies that we’re not doing everything possible. We are. We are.”
The White House previously announced that Biden spoke by phone Sunday night with Kemp and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, as well as Scott Matheson, mayor of Valdosta, Georgia, and Florida Emergency Management Director John Louk. Kemp confirmed Monday morning that he spoke to Biden the night before.
“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...
President-elect Donald Trump and some social media users and pundits blamed Los Angeles’ deadly fires on California Governor Gavin Newsom, saying the Democrat’s environmental policies enabled the ...