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, 3:55 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.
2 hours ago

Trump claims Musk will help Helene victims

Standing in front of a destroyed furniture store in Valdosta, Georgia, former President Donald Trump claimed he’s requested help from Elon Musk and will be traveling to North Carolina when conditions clear.

“They don't have communication. … I just spoke to Elon,” he said. “We want to get Starlink hooked up because they have no communication whatsoever. And Elon will always come through.”

Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, listens to a question as he visits Chez What Furniture Store which was damaged during Hurricane Helene, Sept. 30, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

“As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard-fought national election. But in a time like this when a crisis hits, when our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters,” Trump said before later suggesting the Biden-Harris administration wasn’t doing enough and falsely claiming that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp couldn’t get ahold of the president.

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

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