EVANS, Ga. (AP) — After making amends privately, Donald Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp used the aftermath of Hurricane Helene to publicly demonstrate their détente, with the former president calling a fellow Republican praise he barked a few months ago and promised to treat the state well when he returns to the White House.

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, and Kemp, a popular second-term governor, appeared outside Augusta to tout recovery efforts after Helene made landfall in Florida and wreaked havoc as it moved inland through Georgia and other states.

“I want to thank President Trump for coming back to our state for a second time … and keeping the national focus on our state as we recover,” Kemp said, as Trump stood silently over his right shoulder, both 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 relationship between the two Republicans since November 2020, when Trump falsely insisted he had defeated Democrat Joe Biden and chided Kemp for refusing to help him win the to cancel 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, his handpicked co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

Once in front of the cameras, Trump said Kemp was “doing a fantastic job” and praised the storm response in Georgia. However, the former president seemingly contradicted his praise by later repeating his false claims that the Biden administration had been flat-footed and allowed affected states to suffer.

Earlier this week in Valdosta, Trump even claimed that Biden had not spoken to Kemp at all. In a separate appearance, Kemp confirmed that Biden had personally called him and offered any help Georgia might need.

“I missed him and called him right back and he just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’ And I told him, you know, we have what we need, we’ll go through the federal process,” Kemp said of Biden. “He offered to call him directly if there are other things we need, which I appreciate.”

At Evans on Friday, Kemp did not answer questions from reporters so he did not have to contradict Trump while standing next to him. The governor left the pavilion where they spoke by the time Trump began answering questions and repeating his criticism of Biden.

Kemp noted during his remarks that the federal government has already approved its recommended disaster declarations for Georgia counties — the legal step required for federal reimbursement to cover storm response. Kemp said he expected more counties to be added to the list.

After Trump left, National Guard members were seen dismantling the display of supplies that served as a backdrop for the governor and former president.

As recently as August, Trump used social media posts and a rally in Atlanta to accuse Kemp of “fighting Unity and the Republican Party” and criticized Georgia first lady Marty Kemp for saying she planned to run in to write her husband’s name on her presidential ballot. Kemp had said for months that he would support “the Republican ticket,” but without specifically naming Trump.

That spectacle raised concerns among Republicans in Georgia and nationally that the Republican disagreements would lead to a repeat of 2020, when Biden won the state by fewer than 12,000 votes out of 5 million cast.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance helped negotiate a détente, with Kemp ultimately stating in a cable news interview that he supported Trump’s comeback bid and Trump in turn praising the governor on social media. Not long after, Vance and Kemp spoke at a Faith & Freedom Coalition gala in Georgia and met backstage.

During his speech at the dinner, Kemp explicitly called for Trump to be returned to the White House. But he still spent most of his speech criticizing Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris rather than glorifying Trump.

Marty Kemp did not appear with her husband and the former president on Friday.

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