Former President Donald Trump was in Valdosta, Ga., on Monday afternoon to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which tore through the Southeast and killed at least 121 people in six states.

The Republican presidential candidate said he “brought many wagons of resources,” including gasoline, food and water, to help with relief efforts. He said the truckloads of supplies would be distributed through evangelist Franklin Graham’s Samaritan Purse charity. Graham offered a prayer at one point after being introduced by Trump.

“We're here today to stand in complete solidarity with the people of Georgia and with all of those suffering in the terrible aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” Trump said in brief remarks to the press. “Hurricane Helene turned out to be a big one, like just about the biggest that anyone's seen. I spoke with all of the relief people, all of the people that do this for a living and do this at least to help, and they said they've never seen one this bad.”

Trump said his prayers were with people in the region and, after a moment of silence, said that despite the country being “in the final weeks of a hard fought national election” that the moment called for putting politics to the side. But he also falsely claimed that the Biden administration hasn’t been helping and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had been unable to get President Joe Biden on the phone.

The White House previously announced that Biden spoke by phone on Sunday night with Kemp and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, as well as Valdosta Mayor Scott Matheson and Florida Emergency Management Director John Louk. Kemp confirmed Monday morning that he spoke to Biden the night before.

“The president just called me yesterday afternoon, and I missed him and called him right back and he just said ‘Hey, what do you need?’ And I told him, you know, we’ve got what we need, we’ll work through the federal process,” Kemp said. “He offered if there are other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that."

Biden said he will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday to get a first-hand look at the devastation, but will limit his footprint so as not to distract from the ongoing recovery efforts.

“He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying,” Biden said at the White House on Monday evening.

“I don’t know why he does this,” Biden continued. “I don’t care about what he says about me, but I care what he what he communicates to people that are in need. He implies that we’re not doing everything possible. We are. We are.”

Trump also spent much of the weekend and earlier on Monday questioning why Vice President Kamala Harris wasn’t in the Southeast herself and for attending weekend "fundraising events with her radical left lunatic donors" in California. On Monday, as he traveled to Georgia, he accused Harris in a social media post of staging a photo of her sitting on Air Force Two talking to Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell. 

During remarks Monday at FEMA headquarters, Harris said she has received regular briefings on the disaster response, including from Criswell, and has spoken with Kemp and Cooper in the last 24 hours.

“I have shared with them that we will do everything in our power to help communities respond and recover,” she said. “And I’ve shared with them that I plan to be on the ground as soon as possible without disrupting any emergency response operations.”

When asked if her visit was politicizing the storm, she frowned and shook her head but did not reply.

Trump said he wanted to stop in North Carolina but is holding off because access and communication is limited in hard-hit communities. Speaking in Georgia, he said he had spoken to billionaire Elon Musk about enlisting his Starlink satellite company to help provide internet and cell service in the area. The White House noted FEMA was already working with Starlink.

FEMA uses disaster relief funds to coordinate the federal response to major disasters. It pays for debris removal, the repair of public infrastructure and financial assistance for survivors, among other things. The temporary spending bill passed and signed into law last week pumped about $20 billion into the fund and gave FEMA the ability to spend that money more quickly.

That should help the agency respond to the most immediate needs, but lawmakers from both parties recognize that additional money will be needed in the coming months. Lawmakers are expected to return to Washington shortly after the November election and negotiate a full-year spending bill, when many lawmakers will seek billions of dollars more for the disaster relief fund.

Trump campaign officials have long pointed to his visit to East Palestine, Ohio, the site of a toxic trail derailment, as a turning point in the early days of the presidential race when he was struggling to establish his footing as a candidate. They believed his warm welcome by residents frustrated by the federal government’s response helped remind voters why they had been drawn to him years earlier.

“Our hearts are with you, and we are going to be with you as long as you need it. It's called an hour of need. You're in our prayers, and we pray to God,” Trump said in Georgia. “And throughout these long weeks, the long weeks that lay ahead, you're going to have a lot of work, but the end result is it's going to be good. We just wish so many people weren't so badly hurt and in many cases, sadly, no longer with us. We love you.”