Former President Donald Trump stated on Monday that he discussed with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk the possibility of deploying Starlink in areas affected by flooding from Hurricane Helene.
Trump made these comments regarding Musk’s efforts, whom he referred to as his strongest political ally, during an event in Valdosta, Georgia.
“Homes, hospitals, highways, and cars have been plunged under water,” Trump said. “Entire neighborhoods have been turned into lakes. Nobody’s seen anything like it. And every family that’s been displaced here in Georgia and North Carolina, which has really been hit, we’re going there also. They don’t have communication, they don’t have anything right now.”
“I just spoke to Elon. I’m getting him, we want to get Starlink hooked up because they have no communication whatsoever. And Elon will always come through, and we know that. And so we’re working on that, getting them hooked up, they asked me whether or not that would be possible. We’re going to try and get the Starlink in there as soon as possible because they have no communication.”
🚨President Trump says that he spoke to @elonmusk about getting Starlink set up for the hurricane victims who have lost communication. pic.twitter.com/2BEDyPzblZ
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 30, 2024
“And throughout the region, our hearts are with you, and we are going to be with you as long as you need it,” he added. “It’s called an hour of need. You’re in our prayers, and we pray to God. And throughout this long weeks, the long weeks that lay ahead, you’re going to have a lot of work, but the end result is it’s going to be good. We just wish so many people weren’t so badly hurt and in many cases, sadly, no longer with us. We love you.”