Former U.S. President Donald Trump visited the state of Georgia on Friday (October 4) after being hit by Hurricane “Helene” and received a briefing on post-disaster recovery work with Governor Brian Kemp. This marked the first joint appearance of these two Republican leaders since their conflict following the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Friday’s visit was Trump’s second visit to this battleground state this week. The Republican nominee for the 2024 presidency last visited Georgia on Monday to inspect the damage caused by Hurricane “Helene.”
In the afternoon on Friday, Trump and Kemp appeared together in Evans, Georgia, and after receiving a briefing from emergency officials, they addressed the press.
Kemp thanked the former president for visiting twice within a week to offer support, and Trump praised Kemp for his efforts in responding to the disaster.
Kemp said, “I want to thank President Trump for coming back to our state… and bringing national attention to our recovery efforts.”
As Kemp spoke, Trump stood silently by his side, surrounded by supplies such as water and paper products for relief.
The two shook hands, patting each other’s back, exhibiting a friendly and warm demeanor.
After Kemp left the podium, a reporter loudly asked Trump, “How is your relationship with Governor Kemp now?”
Trump replied, “Very good!”
The reporter then pointed out that Trump had previously criticized Kemp.
“No, no, no,” Trump said, “Very good. We work together. We’ve always worked very well together.”
Since their conflict during the 2020 U.S. election, Trump and Kemp have criticized each other on several occasions. Trump even criticized Kemp at a rally held in August this year, while Kemp had been avoiding participating in the campaign activities of the Republican presidential nominee.
However, Kemp has consistently stated throughout this election cycle that he will support whichever Republican candidate wins the presidential nomination and will strive to help Republicans win in this year’s election.
In late August, with mediation from Republican U.S. Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham and Trump’s campaign partner JD Vance, Kemp stated in an interview with Fox News, “We need to get Donald Trump back in the White House.”
Shortly thereafter, Trump also began openly praising Kemp.
During Friday’s event, when asked about the potential impact of the hurricane damage on the voting in Georgia and North Carolina, Trump said, “Right now, I’m not thinking about voters, I’m thinking about lives. Honestly, that’s more important than anything. But we’re thinking about lives, a lot of people lost, a lot of people missing, that’s what I’m focused on right now.”