Trump and Kemp, Split Over Helene, to Meet for First Time Since 2020

Former President Donald Trump will meet with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Friday to discuss the latest on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, the first time the two Republicans have come face-to-face in four years. Their appearance together comes amid a tumultuous relationship stemming from the 2020 election that has since stabilized after Kemp through his endorsement behind the former president.
Trump and Kemp have also taken different sides over the federal government’s response to the storm that has killed at least 200 people.
The Republicans have not seen eye-to-eye for years, with Trump calling Kemp a “bad guy” and “disloyal” at a rally in Georgia as recently as August.
Kemp famously resisted Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the last election, along with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, sparking Trump’s fury at rallies and in social media posts.
The pair will make a joint appearance in Evans, Georgia, Friday afternoon to be briefed on the latest disaster relief efforts related to the hurricane. They are due to speak to reporters at 3:45 p.m. ET
Newsweek reached out to both the Trump campaign and Governor Kemp’s office for comment Friday morning via email.
Friday’s visit comes after Trump claimed that governor had not received federal help and was struggling to get President Joe Biden on the phone in the aftermath of the storm, while also saying Kemp was doing a “very good job”.
President Biden called those comments “irresponsible”, and Kemp himself said Biden had called him.
“He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?'” the governor told reporters. “And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We will work through the federal process. He offered that if there’s other things we need, just to call him directly.”
Friday’s meeting will be the first time Trump and Kemp have met in person since 2020, when their relationship deteriorated.
Ahead of a rally in August, Trump said that Kemp and Raffensperger needed to do their jobs – tackling crime and making sure the 2024 election was not stolen.
In the post on Truth Social, Trump also criticized Kemp’s wife for reportedly not endorsing him for president.
“My focus is on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats—not engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past,” Kemp said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in response. urging Trump to “leave my family out of it.”
Later, at the rally in Atlanta on Aug. 3, Trump called the governor “little Brian Kemp”, adding that he was “a disloyal guy” and a “very average governor.”
The feud then eased later in August, however, with the former president thanking Kemp for his help in Georgia, which is a key battleground state that could be vital if Trump wants to make it back to the White House.
The pivot appeared to take place just after Kemp went on Fox News to publicly declare his support for Trump’s election bid, and after many Republicans expressed confusion and dismay that the former president would personally attack the popular governor of an important swing state.
At the time, the state’s election board was eyeing up new rules which were seen to favor Trump. Kemp raised concerns about the board’s plans and was seeking guidance on whether he could remove members.
The new election rules were approved in September and include requirements for hand-counting ballots and allowing more poll watchers.
The board’s argument is that the new rules will make elections more transparent in an important swing state that Trump won in 2016, but narrowly lost in 2020.
Polling has shown Trump with a slight lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia, with both campaigns making multiple stops across the state, hoping to put its 16 Electoral College votes in their column.
Both candidates have already been to Georgia once this week to assess damage from the storm.