ICYMI: Trump’s Hurricane Helene Photo Op Diverted First Responders from Relief Efforts in GA
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HuffPost: “Trump Said He Brought Supplies To Storm-Ravaged Georgia. There’s No Evidence He Did.”
“The former and would-be future president’s visit also required dozens of local police officers for security, diverting them from storm cleanup.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This weekend, HuffPost reported that Donald Trump’s shameless photo op in Valdosta, GA, diverted dozens of first responders from early relief efforts for Hurricane Helene.
HuffPost, “Trump Said He Brought Supplies To Storm-Ravaged Georgia. There’s No Evidence He Did.
“The former and would-be future president’s visit also required dozens of local police officers for security, diverting them from storm cleanup…
“While Donald Trump took credit for bringing truckloads of supplies to hurricane-ravaged Georgia last month, it appears that the only thing he brought to Valdosta that day was traffic and a first-responder diversion from the relief effort…
“In reality, those trucks were brought by Samaritan’s Purse, a charity run by the pastor Franklin Graham. They were already there by the time Trump flew to the local airport and then rode into town in his Secret Service motorcade, according to residents…
“That motorcade and the increased security needed at Trump’s photo opportunity required 42 officers from the Georgia State Patrol, according to documents from that agency obtained by HuffPost.
“A smaller number of Valdosta police officers and deputies from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office also provided traffic control at the town’s intersections during Trump’s visit, said Mayor Scott James Matheson. He acknowledged that those officers could not continue with relief and cleanup efforts while they were detailed to Trump’s visit.
“Not wanting to interfere with cleanup efforts, in fact, was the reason President Joe Biden cited for waiting to visit until roads were open and immediate needs taken care of. It was the same reason Trump’s own energy secretary, Rick Perry, cited in 2017 when he explained why then-President Trump had not visited Houston after Hurricane Harvey.
“He really wanted to be where there were citizens being affected. He was advised: the better place for you to go is Corpus Christi or San Antonio or Austin, where no search and rescue resources would be pulled away from what they’re doing,” Perry said.”