Former President Trump said Monday that he has talked with Elon Musk about providing Starlink internet service to people without power in states affected by Hurricane Helen.
President Trump traveled to Valdosta, Georgia, to view damage from the storm and express support for those dealing with the aftermath. The former president also expressed his intention to visit North Carolina, which was hit by a hurricane in recent days.
“To all the families who are evacuating here in Georgia and in hard-hit North Carolina. We will be there too. They have no communication and right now there is nothing,” Trump said. spoke.
“I just talked to Elon…I want him to connect us because we can't get to Starlink. Elon will get through it. We know that,” Trump added. “We're working on getting them together. We're going to try to get Starlink in there as soon as possible.”
Musk is the founder of SpaceX, which operates the Starlink satellites. Musk is supporting Trump in the 2024 election campaign.
Trump vowed to stand by those affected “for as long as necessary.”
“It's going to be a good outcome in the end,” Trump said.
Helen made landfall in Florida on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane, bringing devastating winds and rain. Approximately 100 people have died in multiple states and millions are without power, the Associated Press reported.
Vice President Harris, a Democratic candidate for November's election, cut short her West Coast campaign and returned to Washington on Monday to be briefed on the storm at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters. Harris is expected to experience more damage from the storm within days once the strain on local resources eases.
President Biden has met with state and local officials in North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and the federal government has sent thousands of employees to provide resources and help coordinate the response to the storm.
The White House also declared a state of emergency for states affected by the storm to help expedite resources. Biden said Monday that Congress may need to reauthorize additional funding for storm recovery efforts.
President Trump, who visited Georgia on Monday, criticized Biden's response to the storm.
President Trump said of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (Republican), “The governor is doing a very good job,” adding, “He's having a hard time calling the president. The federal government is not responding.” No,” he said.
But Kemp himself said Sunday that he spoke with Biden about the aftermath of the hurricane.
“He offered to just call me directly if I needed anything else, which I appreciated,” Kemp said of Biden.
