2024 election updates: Helene politics is the focus 36 days until Election Day

Donald Trump tours south Georgia while Kamala Harris gets a FEMA briefing.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Brittany Gaddy
Last Updated: September 30, 2024, 3:30 PM EDT

With just 36 days until Election Day, the campaign trail is taking a sharp turn toward how Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are responding to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and its aftermath.

It's also one day before the vice presidential debate on Tuesday.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
3 hours ago

Fact check: Biden and Georgia's governor have spoken

Trump incorrectly claimed that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and President Joe Biden haven’t been in touch since Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Southeast, making clear that his already controversial visit to the hard-hit state is a political one.

“I spoke with, for a couple hours, leaders yesterday affected by the hurricane,” Biden said Monday morning. “Governor Kemp of Georgia, Governor Cooper of North Carolina, county officials in the Big Bend region of Florida and other leaders in South Carolina and Tennessee.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, Sept. 30, at the Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, N.C.
Gary Robertson/AP

Kemp on Monday acknowledged the call with Biden and said he and Harris had been trying to speak.

--ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Molly Nagle

1:34 PM EDT

Trump claims Biden and Harris not responding to Georgia disaster

Trump claimed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is having a hard time getting President Joe Biden on the phone and that the federal government is being unresponsive after Hurricane Helene wrecked the parts of the state.

“The Vice President, she's out some place campaigning and looking for money,” Trump said after landing in Valdosta, Georgia. “They have to be focused over here.”

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Valdosta Regional Airport to visit areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Sept. 30, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga.
Evan Vucci/AP

Biden approved Kemp’s request for an emergency declaration on Thursday and Harris canceled campaign events Monday to return to Washington for a briefing on the storm and the federal response.

1:16 PM EDT

NC leaders ask politicians to stay away

Ahead of his visit to Valdosta, Georgia, Trump posted to Truth Social that he will pay his respects to the community, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene, and bring aid.

Trump added that he was going to stop by damaged communities in North Carolina too, but determined it would be too burdensome on local officials.

President Donald Trump greets U.S Air Force airmen as he arrives at the Muniz Air National Guard Base as he makes a visit after Hurricane Maria hit the island, Oct. 3, 2017, in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Rep. Chuck Edwards, who represents Asheville, North Carolina, told ABC Contributing Political Correspondent Rachael Bade on Sunday night that photo-ops were not welcome. Cooper even asked President Joe Biden and Harris to please not visit the state right now.

--ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

10:41 AM EDT

New York Times endorses Harris

The New York Times endorsed Harris for president in an editorial published Monday morning, calling her "the only patriotic choice for president" and later "the only choice."

Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at the Expo at World Market Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, September 29, 2024.
Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images

"As a dedicated public servant who has demonstrated care, competence and an unwavering commitment to the Constitution, Ms. Harris stands alone in this race," the Times' editorial board wrote. "She may not be the perfect candidate for every voter, especially those who are frustrated and angry about our government's failures to fix what's broken -- from our immigration system to public schools to housing costs to gun violence. Yet we urge Americans to contrast Ms. Harris's record with her opponent's."

--ABC News' Oren Oppenheim