Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp slammed the Harris-Biden administration for moving too slowly to help rural communities in his state after Hurricane Helene unleashed utter hell and left more than two dozen dead.
Kemp – whose state has seen at least 25 deaths from the storm — vented about having to call the White House and request additional parts of Georgia be added to President Biden’s disaster declaration.
“When the first emergency declarations came down, there was only 11 counties in that. A lot of people were outraged, including me, because there was such devastation in up to 90 counties,” Kemp told WRDW.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he had to ask the White House to expand its emergency declaration for Hurricane Helene after it only included 11 out of 90 affected counties. Governor Brian KempPresidential disaster declarations allow counties named to apply for and receive funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), making them a vital part of disaster recovery.
But only counties named in the declarations are eligible to receive aid – meaning nearly 80 Georgia counties were left in the lurch by Biden’s initial action, which came shortly after the storm struck.
“So we called the White House. We spoke to the president’s chief of staff, the FEMA administrator and said, look, you’re sending the signal that you’re not paying attention to some of these rural communities,” the Republican governor said.
Immediately after he made the call, Kemp said, White House officials added an additional 30 counties to the declaration — and he noted that FEMA could add more if needed.
“I absolutely think we will have a lot more counties added. We’re at 41 right now and I could see it going anywhere from 70 to 90,” Kemp said.
On Thursday, Biden told reporters it’s likely all of the Peach State will be made eligible for FEMA aid.
“I imagine every county in the state will be approved,” the president said.
Biden’s response to the disaster has been heavily scrutinized, especially after he and his administration said federal aid had dried up — despite recently allocating billions for migrants and other countries.
The lame-duck president opted to monitor Helene’s aftermath from his Delaware vacation home over the weekend -rather than at the White House, a move he was grilled about on Monday.
Kemp said that after he made the call, the White House added 30 counties to the declaration. Governor Brian Kemp“I was commanding it. I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I commanded it,” the president said.
Then, he snapped, “It’s called a telephone.”
During his own trip to Georgia Monday, Trump stoked further controversy over Biden’s phone when he claimed the president wasn’t picking up calls from Kemp – saying he was “sleeping” instead.
“[Kemp is] calling the president and hasn’t been able to get him,” Trump said, later repeating the claim during his trip, according to the Guardian.
But Kemp refuted Trump, insisting Biden had even called him the day before.
“The president just called me yesterday afternoon and he just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’” Kemp told reporters.
“He offered that if there’s other things we need, just to call him directly, which, I appreciate that.”
Kemp and Trump will appear together Friday for the first time since 2020. Trump has spent the past four years ripping the fellow Republican as “a bad guy” for refusing to challenge Biden’s election victory in Georgia.
Kemp said he expects additional counties to be added to the declaration. Governor Brian KempIn August, after Kemp said he supported Trump’s reelection, the presidential candidate suggested the two would bury the hatchet.
“I think we’re going to have a very good relationship with Brian Kemp,” Trump said.
The pair is scheduled to visit Evans, Georgia, to survey damage and deliver remarks.
Hurricane Helene wrought devastation across six states, where the recovery is expected to cost at least $35 billion.
“It was a massive storm and we’re dealing with things statewide, even the metro Atlanta area had record flooding. We had mudslides. We had to evacuate people below lakes, and ponds up in the northeast part of the state, so we’ve been dealing with it,” Kemp said.
On Wednesday, Biden took an aerial tour of Greenville, South Carolina, before receiving an operational briefing in Raleigh, North Carolina, while Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Augusta, Georgia, to assess the catastrophic damage.
With Post wires






