EVANS, Ga. (AP) — After making up privately, Donald Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp used the aftermath of Hurricane Helene to put their détente on public display, with the former president praising a fellow Republican he blistered just months ago and promising to treat the state well if he returns to the White House.
Trump , the Republican presidential nominee, and Kemp, a popular second-term governor, appeared outside Augusta to tout recovery efforts after Helene made landfall in Florida and wrought widespread damage as it moved inland through Georgia and other states. ”I want to thank President Trump for coming back to our state a second time ..
. and keeping the national focus on our state as we recover,” Kemp said, speaking as Trump stood silently over his right shoulder, both of them surrounded by water, paper products, diapers and other relief supplies. The appearance in the town of Evans involved none of the vitriol that has defined the two Republicans' relationship since November 2020, when Trump insisted falsely that he defeated Democrat Joe Biden and chided Kemp for refusing to help him overturn the result.
Kemp and Trump met privately before addressing reporters. Trump was accompanied on the trip by his top campaign advisers, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who is his handpicked Republican National Committee co-chair. Once in front of cameras, Trump said Kemp is doing a “fantastic job," and he extolled the storm respo.
