(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump spoke at a furniture store in Hurricane Helene-ravaged Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday where he said the day wasn’t about politics — only to use the moment to continue to slam President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for their response to the natural disaster.
“As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard-fought national election. But 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. We need a lot of help. They have to have a lot of help down here,” Trump said of the Georgia community hit by the hurricane.
But Trump later suggested Biden and Harris weren’t doing enough in the aftermath of the hurricane, which hit several states including Georgia and North Carolina — two battlegrounds in the upcoming election.
“We do need some help from the federal government,” Trump claimed.
On Monday, Biden said he has directed his team to “provide every, every available resource as fast as possible” to the communities to help them rescue, recover and begin to rebuild.
Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood Randall on Monday said there are currently 3,500 federal response personnel deployed and supporting response efforts across the region, and additional personnel is expected to arrive in the coming days.
“Search and rescue efforts by state, local, and federal partners are ongoing, and nearly 600 additional personnel will arrive in the region in the coming days, increasing the total number of urban search and rescue personnel to over 1,250,” she told reporters.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Army Corps of Engineers are also getting generators ready to be deployed to states that request them.
While communication remains a major challenge for the impacted area, Sherwood-Randall said, “FEMA will install 30 Starlink receivers in western North Carolina to provide immediate connectivity for those in greatest need.”
Biden, while returning home from the beach on Sunday, was adamant that his administration was doing everything possible to help the affected communities.
Asked by ABC News is there are more resources the federal government could be giving, Biden responded, “no, we’ve given them.”
“We have pre-planned a significant amount, even though they didn’t ask for it yet — hadn’t asked for it yet,” Biden said Sunday.
The Trump campaign said it partnered with humanitarian aid nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse to bring relief supplies to the state. A campaign official claimed it brought one gas tanker and two trucks full of supplies.
“We’ve done this before, but we have a lot of truckloads of different items, from oil to water to all sorts of equipment that’s going to help them,” Trump said.
Harris cut short her campaign swing through Las Vegas to return to Washington to be briefed on the hurricane response by the FEMA.
Harris said she intends to visit communities impacted by Hurricane Helene “as soon as it is possible without disrupting emergency response operations,” according to a White House official. Harris, who was briefed by FEMA on the federal response to the hurricane, reached out to local officials, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
“We are deploying food, water and generators, and working to restore state and local leaders, we will provide whatever help they need in the days and weeks ahead,” Harris said Sunday while rallying in Las Vegas.
She will learn more from FEMA during meetings in Washington on Monday, according to a White House official.
Trump’s visit to Georgia comes after other recent criticism of Biden and Harris for their response to Hurricane Helene.
“She ought to be down in the area where she should be. That’s what she’s getting paid for, right? That’s what she’s getting paid for,” Trump said at his rally Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Trump has attacked Harris’ response to Hurricane Helene specifically, saying her delay in visiting the impacted region demonstrates that she isn’t qualified to become president.
On Monday, Biden said called Hurricane Helene “not just a catastrophic storm, it’s historic, history, making storm,” and pledged to visit the impacted area once he can do so without being “disruptive,” hopefully later this week.
“I also want you to know I’m committed to traveling to impacted areas as soon as possible. But, I’ve been told that it’d be disruptive if I did it right now, we will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any, any of the response assets needed to deal with this crisis,” Biden said Monday. “My first responsibility is to get all the help needed to those impacted areas.”
Asked if Trump’s visit to Georgia was causing a disruption, Biden replied “I don’t have any idea.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden was “taking caution to avoid using critical resources that is needed right now, on the road, that, on the ground that people need,” and added that “should be everyone’s top consideration right now.”
Asked if there requests for the Trump to delay his visit, Jean-Pierre didn’t engage directly, repeating Biden’s desire to not take away from resources, but adding “he believes everybody should adhere-adhere to that.”
Hurricane Helene’s storm surge, wind damage, and inland flooding caused deviation and casualties in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee, flooding neighborhoods, stranding residents, demolishing homes and toppling trees. The storm has killed at least 107 people and left dozens missing.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will McDuffie and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
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