Trump, No Stranger to Playing Storm Politics, Visits a Battered Georgia

Minutes after touching down in storm-ravaged Valdosta, Ga., former President Donald J. Trump made an elaborate false claim about the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.

“The governor’s doing a very good job,” Mr. Trump said of the state’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp. The problem, the former president insisted, was that Mr. Kemp was “having a hard time getting the president on the phone.”

Mr. Trump, who wore a red “Make America Great Again” cap along with his trademark blue suit and long red tie, added: “I guess, uh, they’re not, they’re not being responsive. The federal government is not being responsive.”

But earlier on Monday, Mr. Kemp himself told a different story. He said that he and Mr. Biden had spoken the night before, and made clear he appreciated the president’s responsiveness.

“He just said, Hey, what do you need?” Mr. Kemp said. “And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We’ll work through the federal process.”

Mr. Kemp said that Mr. Biden offered “that if there’s other things we need, just to call him directly — which, I appreciate that.”