Welcome to the lien I'm Jake Tapper and you just heard former President Donald Trump

making remarks in Evans, Georgia after listening to a briefing on the damage

caused by Hurricane Helene.

Let's go to CNN, Steve Contorno.

He's in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Trump is going to head to later tonight for a town hall.

And Steve, what do you make of what we just heard from Trump in Georgia?

Well, Donald Trump wasted little time politicizing this tragedy even further than he already has and he criticized the White House

for what he said was a terrible response and he said that what he went on

to boast about his own performance during previous hurricanes when he was

presidents he said he reminded people that there is an election coming in this in the state where it's obviously very very close

and that he promised that if he is elected he is very committed to this state that

was his direct quote he also at one point said I'm not thinking

about voters, I'm thinking about lives, but obviously he was also plugging what he would

do as presidents if he were elected. So notable as well that Brian Kemp, the governor of the

state, spoke right before Donald Trump and he did not mention any issues that

he has had with the Biden administration or FEMA's response and that has been sort of a

thread line through Donald Trump's criticism of the Biden administration's response,

the Harris-Biden administration as he puts it that many local officials many state

officials have said so far that the response has been adequate that they have

received what they have asked for that the emergency declarations were made early in advance

of the storm and that they have had a open line of communication with the Biden administration.

But Donald Trump appearing in a swing state that has been

...