In recent days, Donald Trump has lied about President Joe Biden’s offered assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Biden’s communications with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, claiming that Democrats including North Carolina’s governor are “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.” Yet on September 30, a CNN correspondent claimed that Trump is “offering a message of unity” during his visit to Georgia.
Trump lobs false attacks at Biden, Harris after Hurricane Helene, and CNN claims he's offering a “message of unity”
Written by Courtney Hagle
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CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes reported that Trump “is clearly taking this seriously as a politician is on the ground trying to show that he is there in support of the people on the ground in Georgia.”
She also claimed that Trump is “offering a message of unity,” though she acknowledged that he has also attacked Vice President Kamala Harris for not visiting the area. (Harris and Biden have both said they will visit when doing so would not disrupt recovery efforts.)
Holmes highlighted that Trump said he was arriving with a tanker truck full of gasoline, and she noted that “if you've ever covered one of these storms, you understand that one of the first things and hardest things to come by is gasoline.”
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From the September 30, 2024, edition of CNN's CNN News Central
BRIANNA KEILAR (ANCHOR): Let's go to CNN's Kristen Holmes with us now. And Kristen, it's interesting because former President Trump is talking about how politics don't matter, but clearly they do when you have a swing state that is so important being affected by such a big storm. We know that FEMA has already deployed some satellites for Starlink connectivity, to the region. And you hear Trump trying to create a sense of the Biden administration hasn't really done much to help out. He's made some baseless claims about that. We know the president has approved an emergency declaration days ago in Georgia. Tell us what you're seeing here and what the Trump campaign is saying.
KRISTEN HOLMES (CORRESPONDENT): Yeah. Well, look. This is a red state. Donald Trump is being treated as a principal here. He is being treated not just as a former president, but almost as though he is a sitting president. As Boris, you just noted, getting a briefing from FEMA, getting a briefing from the National Guard, that is not something that is typically just offered to a candidate. They are treating him as though he is a former president who is there to help. And one thing that I had noticed earlier during our 1 pm conversation was that Donald Trump did not have that much to offer in terms of resources since he is not a sitting president. But I will note that he and the campaign say that they have arrived in that area with trucks full of supplies that they plan on giving out, so there is something there for them to offer. He also said that he had a tanker truck full of gasoline, which obviously, if you've ever covered one of these storms, you understand that one of the first things and hardest things to come by is gasoline. So he said that he was going to be giving that out. He is clearly taking this seriously as a politician is on the ground trying to show that he is there in support of the people on the ground in Georgia. And, of course, this comes as well. He is, again, offering a message of unity. He has spent the last several days slamming Kamala Harris, his rival, for not being on the ground, for not helping with this storm. And I do want to point out what you said was very interesting about the Starlink. FEMA, yes, has been doing that, but Donald Trump taking it to another level saying he's going to personally have a conversation with Elon Musk, which does matter given what we know about their relationship — trying to insert himself there to say that he has the efforts, that he has the resources to actually help people on the ground.
BORIS SANCHEZ (ANCHOR): Yeah. It's interesting to see the disparity in the comments he made before today's event and the comments he's making now. Kristen Holmes, thanks so much.
Holmes did not mention Trump’s false comments from earlier on September 30 that Kemp is “having a hard time getting the president on the phone” and that Biden is being “very nonresponsive.” The same day, Kemp said that he had spoken to Biden the previous day and that he appreciates Biden’s offers of assistance.
Trump also posted on Truth Social on September 30 that the federal government and Democratic governor of North Carolina are “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”
Trump also accused Harris of sharing a “FAKE and STAGED” photo of her receiving a briefing and said that Democrats have “left Americans to drown” and that “Americans always come last” under Biden’s administration.
Correction (9/30/24): This post previously misidentified Brianna Keilar.