Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is lying about Georgia’s governor being unable to get in touch with the White House about Hurricane Helene relief, President Joe Biden said late Monday.
During a stop in Valdosta, Georgia, to tour storm damage, Trump claimed that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has “been calling [the federal government]. The president hasn’t been able to get him, but they’ll come through, I’m sure.”
Yet, earlier in the day, Kemp told reporters that Biden called him Sunday afternoon. “I missed him and called him right back,” Kemp said. “He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ I told him, you know, ‘We got what we need. We’ll work through the federal process.’ He offered that if there’s other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that.”
During an Oval Office briefing with FEMA and North Carolina officials in the early evening, Biden was asked about Trump’s comments.
“He is lying, and the governor told him he was lying,” Biden said. “I’ve spoken to the governor. I’ve spent time with him, and he told him he’s lying. I don’t know why he does this.”
Biden said his anger at Trump’s comments were less about himself and more about communicating with people in need after Helene tore through the southeastern U.S. As of Tuesday morning, at least 130 people across six states have died and many more remain missing. More than 2 million people are without power.
Trump “implies that we’re not doing everything possible. We are,” Biden said.
He also called the former president’s comments “irresponsible.”
Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show.
Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe
PBS News podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS News at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6
Follow us:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews
X: http://www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour
Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour
