Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump speaks from South Georgia in Helene's aftermath; Hard-hit North Carolina await help after widespread damage; Chemical plant fire sends chlorine plume into Metro Atlanta; Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired September 30, 2024 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And to the families and loved ones of those who have perished, we mourn alongside of you and we grieve every single life so tragically lost. I'd like to now ask for a moment of silence and prayer, if you would, for those who have died. Thank you.

Thank you very much. As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard fought national election. But in a time like this, when a crisis hits, when our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters. We're not talking about politics now. We have to all get together and get this solved. We need a lot of help. They have to have a lot of help down here. We look out for one another, we pull together, we pitch in, we persevere, and we pull it through. That is really the American spirit. That's what made America originally great. And that's why today, I've come to Valdosta with large semi-trucks, many of them filled with relief aid, and a tanker truck filled up with gasoline. We have a couple of the big tanker trucks filled up with gasoline, which they can't get now. And we'll be working to distribute it throughout the day.

And I want to thank, again, Franklin Graham and everyone at Samaritan's purse. You people are fantastic, by the way, just -- and people appreciate you very much for the incredible partnering and work that they've done, not only here, but all the time. They always seem to be the first ones at areas that need help.

A short time ago, I received a briefing on the situation here in Valdosta from FEMA and the National Guard, as well as a number of state and local officials, quite a few of them. It's amazing, the way it's just all been pulled together. Really amazing. I want to thank Mayor Scott James, Valdosta, who's -- where is Scott? Where is Scott? Hi, Scott. Thank you very much. You did great, really great job. I want to thank Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones and Agricultural Commissioner Tyler Harper, representatives, as I said before, Austin Scott and Mike Collins and all of the others present.

I also want to thank Governor Brian Kemp, who's working around the clock to get this problem solved. He's working hard around the clock. We also have a salute to the incredible first responders, law enforcement heroes. And they are heroes, doctors, nurses, firefighters, coast guard, National Guard, who have been serving with such extraordinary grace. And the work is incredible. Nobody thought they'd see something like this. You're the best -- you are truly the best of America. And you're appreciated by America. Sometimes you don't feel that way, but you're very much appreciated by America.

And I know each and every one of you is giving to this community of everything you have. You're doing things that you wouldn't normally even think about doing. The people on the ground are doing the best they can in every challenging circumstances. So we do need some help from the federal government. They have to get together, ideally with the governor. That governor needs to, he's been trying to get them and I'm sure they're going to come through. But he's been calling. The President hasn't been able to get him, but they'll come through, I'm sure.

And Georgia and North Carolina need the help, probably worst of all, but North Carolina has really been hit. They have really been hit. Nope, they say nobody has seen anything like that at all. Every part of the --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We've been listening to former President Donald Trump in Valdosta, Georgia, giving remarks after Hurricane Helene swept through the southeast, killing upwards of 119 people. The former President there actually holding a moment of silence for those killed, saying to the communities affected, we love you. We love everyone. There's a lot of work ahead. He actually gave a message of unity during this speech, something that is rare for former President Trump, at least during this campaign cycle.

He said that the election and politics don't matter at a time like this. That's part of the American spirit. He described getting a briefing from FEMA and the National Guard. He also talked about the community needing help from the federal government, saying that that will likely come soon. And notably, he talked about having a conversation with Elon Musk, the Tesla founder and CEO, about getting Starlink to help get WiFi to communities that are currently experiencing difficulties with communications.

[14:05:03]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yeah, that's right. Let's go to CNN's Kristen Holmes with us now. And Kristen, it's interesting because former President Trump is talking about how politics don't matter. But clearly, they do when you have a swing state that is so important being affected by such a big storm. We know that FEMA has already deployed some satellites for Starlink connectivity to the region. And you hear Trump trying to create a sense of the Biden administration hasn't really done much to help out.

He's made some baseless claims about that. We know the President has approved an emergency declaration days ago in Georgia. Tell us what you're seeing here and what the Trump campaign is saying.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, look, this is a red state and Donald Trump is being treated as a principal here. He is being treated not just as a former President, but almost as though he is a sitting president. As Boris, you just noted, getting a briefing from FEMA, getting a briefing from the National Guard. That is not something that is typically just offered to a candidate. They are treating him as though he is a former President who is there to help. And one thing that I had noticed earlier during our 01:00 p.m. conversation was that Donald Trump did not have that much to offer in terms of resources since he is not a sitting president.

But I will note that he and the campaign say that they have arrived in that area with trucks full of supplies that they plan on giving out. So there is something there for them to offer. He also said that he had a tanker truck full of gasoline, which obviously, if you've ever covered one of these storms, you understand that one of the first things, that hardest things to come by is gasoline. So he said that he was going to be giving that out. He is clearly taking this seriously as a politician, is on the ground trying to show that he is there in support of the people on the ground in Georgia. And of course, this comes as well. He is again offering a message of unity. He has spent the last several days slamming Kamala Harris, his rival, for not being on the ground, for not helping with this storm. And I do want to point out what you said was very interesting about the Starlink.

FEMA, yes, has been doing that. But Donald Trump taking it to another level, saying he's going to personally have a conversation with Elon Musk, which does matter given what we know about their relationship, trying to insert himself there to say that he has the efforts, he has the resources to actually help people on the ground.

ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Yeah, it's interesting to see the disparity in the comments he made before today's event and the comments he's making now. Kristen Holmes, thanks so much. We want to get you a look on the ground from this area as people across the southeast face a long road to recovery in the catastrophic aftermath of Helene.

The storm ravaged communities from Florida to Virginia with some of the hardest hit areas, as we've been saying, in western North Carolina.

KEILAR: Let's go now to CNN Correspondent Marybel Gonzalez, who is live there in Asheville. So hard hit, Marybel. We've seen some of the pictures coming out of there. Tell us what you're seeing.

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Boris. Hey, Boris and Brianna, the death toll here is just continuing to rise. We know that across the southeast, that number has just been going up. But more than a third of those are right here in North Carolina. And the devastation is just being felt on so many levels. The loss of human life, of course, being the first one. And looking around, you can see that also the community itself is severely damaged. The streets are filled with mud and heavy sludge, making them pretty much impassable for so many cars, making it dangerous for people to be outside in these conditions. We also know that this community is three out of the four highways leading up to these communities are also impassable. So as you can imagine, the devastation is clear here.

Joining me right here is Will Cautt. And you are part of this community. You've been with us all morning long talking about this devastation. Can you just tell me your reaction to seeing this first thing in the morning?

WILL CAUTT, ASHVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT: It was horrible, honestly. I mean, we've never seen anything like this before. And, you know, I just came here. I got here around 8:30 this morning just to see if I still had a job, a place to work. And many other people are probably doing the same. And, yeah, it's just been -- it's been terrible.

GONZALEZ: And for a little bit of context, will you work here at a local business distributing dairy, is that correct? And talk to me about what it looks like inside the facility right now.

CAUTT Yeah, it's pretty much ruined. It's lifted up off the ground a little bit, but it's still got about three or four feet of water. So yeah, we're just going to try to find somewhere else to setup shop and try to get back in business.

GONZALEZ: We know that this community, you don't personally know anybody who has been severely injured or who is unaccounted for. But we know so many of your neighbors are. Can you speak to what concerns you and others have at this moment?

CAUTT: Yeah. I mean, it's horrible seeing all this. And there is other places that are definitely worse than this, so we're kind of lucky in a sense.

[14:10:01]

And we have people and neighbors who have been out here all morning, help clean up, and have been handing out water and snacks. So it's just been -- it's been nice seeing everybody out here and helping each other.

GONZALEZ: We know right now there is no Internet, very spotty cell phone service. It sounds like a headache, but it's more than that for the people who live here. Talk to me about what it's like not having those essential services available to you all.

CAUTT: Yeah, we just got cell phone service back last night at around 11 o'clock, so we were at a cell phone service for about two days. But, I mean, you know, we were -- you can't get gas right now. And so if you can't go anywhere, you can't call anybody, even for the people stranded. You know, it's a very essential thing that we need to have restored as soon as possible. That way we can find people who are lost and get them to their families or people who may be stuck, you know, in a house somewhere in a flood. They can't get out. They don't have food and water. I mean, it's definitely one of the first things that we should get back going for sure.

GONZALEZ: We know that right now in this county alone, there's been reports of hundreds of people unaccounted for because they're not able to reach their loved ones. Talk to your neighbors. What are their concerns right now with trying to reach people?

CAUTT: Well, it's just -- you know, you want to make sure your loved ones are okay. And if you can't get ahold of them and after, especially after all this happened, it's hard. You worry, you know? It's the uncertainty, I think, of it, that causes the worry. And then you just want to make sure everybody is safe.

: We're definitely hoping for that. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. And we know that at this moment, Will and other people are helping neighbors out, helping with that cleanup, you know, and helping assess the damage and anyone who may be stranded.

KEILAR: All right. Marybel Gonzalez, thank you so much. Obviously, they're facing a lot there. Turning back to the politics of all of this, this disaster in the southeast hitting with, of course, a national election just 36 days away. So let's bring in our panel to talk about it. We have Republican Strategist Shermichael Singleton, Democratic Strategist Meghan Hays, and CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger. You guys, I wonder what you think about this visit of Trump's. All of this is happening. It's affecting key states in this race for the White House, states that also need a lot of help. We're hearing from people who need so much help. What do you make of what you're seeing there?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Now, Let's look at where he's at. He's in Valdosta, Georgia. That's the southern part of the state. That's Trump country, effectively. Yes, it will pull resources away from him being -- by him being there. But he talked about, as Kristen Holmes stated, bringing resources, having fuel there, talking with Elon Musk to make sure that people have Internet connectivity. And so while he's not the sitting president, what he's showcasing, is that during moments such as this, I am capable and ready to be there to lead through these types of disasters that matters in what we know will be a critical battleground state, where Kamala Harris has somewhat moved the margins in places like Atlanta, where there's a large African-American population. Marietta, Georgia, is another place that her campaign has focused heavily on to make this race competitive in Georgia.

So I think it's smart, strategically speaking, for the former President to be there. And then he stated, well, where is Vice President Harris? You can debate whether or not she should be there or not. But to point out that contrast, I think, matters.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: I mean, the amount of resources that pull to these visits is insurmountable to these communities. And it's really not a good use of the resources on the ground, the local fire, the police, all the people that have to support these visits. I know when I was at the White House, we always waited until we were invited to come. There's a lot you can do from afar. He could have done a press conference from Florida. He could have done a press conference from New York talking about the resources. So I do -- I have a little bit of a problem with pulling the resources away from folks who need. But also, the federal government is on the ground.

They have 50,000 people with fire -- you know, putting up power lines and pulling resources from different states to get those power lines back up. They have 3,300 federal people on the ground with FEMA, you know, making sure people are getting food. So I do think the federal government response has been -- has always been speedy with the President on these types of disaster situations. But it is political. And I understand why he wants to be there for a photo op. I just -- the amount of resources you pull is it's really not appropriate to be on the ground right now.

GLORIA BORGER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Trump also posted today on social media that he was hearing that the federal government wasn't giving funding to parts of the state that were MAGA. And there's no evidence about that. So he has made this political, even though he didn't do that behind the microphone, he has made this political on social media already.

SANCHEZ: He did insinuate, to your point, shortly before we came back to studio, that he had spoken to Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia --

BORGER: Right.

SANCHEZ: -- and that Governor Kemp had some difficulty getting in touch with President Biden. But a quick fact check there. The White House has pointed out that Biden had a conversation not only with Governor Kemp, but also with Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, as well as officials across Tennessee and Florida, the entire affected area.

[14:15:01]

BORGER: Yeah. And has promised all the resources the federal government can provide.

HAYS: And I think the declarations have been signed. The emergency declarations were signed days. So it's -- I mean, it's all very -- it's false. Trump's comments are false.

SINGLETON: I mean, look, I get that point and I get your points about the federal government response being quick. I think that's the expectation. I was Deputy Chief of staff at HUD. You have disaster relief community developed block grants. HUD usually has to step in to provide housing. I get it. But I think politically speaking, I think those optics really, really matter. And for Trump, if you're looking at a state like Georgia where you're seeing your competitors somewhat increase her margins, you want to be able to indicate to your supporters there that I am with you so that they turn out and vote.

HAYS: And the one thing that was notable here is he is definitely staying on his remarks and he was reading from a paper. And he is not going off message here, which is notable because as soon as he stops reading, he goes off message. So he was definitely trying to be on message for this stuff.

GLETON: More Trump on message.

HAYS: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: I'm curious what you make of that, because as we pointed out, before he gets there, he's criticizing the Vice President for not being there. And yet, when he's behind the podium and he's reading the remarks, he talks about there being the American spirit, and unity, and that sort of thing. And then as soon as --

HAYS: It's really different.

SANCHEZ: And then as soon as the remarks end, he looks up and he says, well, I'm hearing that Biden hasn't called Kemp, even though that's false. What do you make of that?

SINGLETON: I mean, Boris, Trump is going to be Trump. I don't think there's anything the campaign can ever really do about that. But as many of the moments you can sort of curate with him being on message, that absolutely matters. I mean, we know nationally, there's still around 10%, 11% of the American people who are sort of undecided. So can a Trump on message convince some of those voters in traumatic moments such as this or on critical issues that, yeah, I don't like a whole lot about the guy, but he seems to be pretty strong on this one particular issue that really matters to me. I'll give him my vote. That's a calculation that the campaign has to make.

KEILAR: Meghan makes a good point about the pulling away of resources. But, Gloria, I think that Trump has seen an opportunity, is seizing an opportunity, and it may very well work here.

BORGER: Well, remember when he went to East Palestine and showed up at the train wreck, same thing. He did that. And he was complaining that Joe Biden had not gone there yet. So, you know, this isn't his first rodeo doing this. He understands the media, he understands his audience. And, you know, he was clearly reading his remarks. There was no ad libbing here today like we're normally used to at his rallies. And it was clear that he understands the difference between a rally and what he was doing today.

And, you know, this was not a rally. You know, he had Franklin Graham behind him. They were giving out necessities to people. And that was important. And, of course, we all know that the President will be there when he's invited. And I'm sure Kamala Harris will be there, too. I mean, you know, there's no denying that they'll both show up.

HAYS: She did leave Las Vegas to come back to Washington to be more active in this and to -- not to spend her campaigning. The other thing is -- but to your -- guys that's point here, people remember the visual here and people are going to remember he's on the ground. And an election is going to be won on the margins where the resources are important and it's not appropriate. People are going to remember that he was down there.

SANCHEZ: To that point, there are situations in which the politicization of a natural disaster like this can backfire. I remember being there in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017 and Donald Trump tossing paper towels at folks, it didn't really resonate well with a lot of folks that I spoke to on the ground there. And yet, you pointed out as we were watching Trump speak, Meghan, that for Barack Obama after Superstorm Sandy landing in New Jersey, being hugged by then Governor Chris Christie right before, like a month before the election, that was a huge boost for him. So this has the potential to go either way for these candidates, doesn't it? HAYS: Yeah, absolutely. I think that these moments matter, right?

These optics matter. And when people are in a crisis situation, they will remember what they are seeing on TV and what the front page of the paper says tomorrow. Obviously, this is going to fold out over the next couple of days. I'm sure the Vice President and the President will also make their appropriate visits.

SANCHEZ: They said Wednesday or -- I think that's what Biden discussed with Roy Cooper, at least. That's the early indication we have.

HAYS: So we'll have to see how it all plays out this week. But, you know, people do remember these optics and remember who's on the ground helping them and, you know, the FEMA money and all these different resources, it does take a while. So it's like the federal government has stepped in and they are doing everything that they can. But I don't -- we'll have to see --

SINGLETON: And the process.

HAYS: Yeah, we'll have to see how the optics here play out.

BORGER: But when Obama traveled with Sandy, remember it hurt Chris Christie.

SINGLETON: Big time. Yeah.

BORGER: Because Chris Christie gave him a hug. And that wasn't well- received by Republicans. And that hug was played over and over and over again. And so, you know, we'll see -- well, Cooper is not running for reelection obviously. But, you know , it -- he'll welcome Biden with open arms. But, you know, that can also have a negative effect for him.

SINGLETON: even to this day, Republicans dislike Christie because of that. I don't think Brian Kemp is going to be hugging President Biden. But President Harris --

[14:20:04]

KEILAR: Hey, but listen, if you are a governor, you're --

BORGER: But in the same party, you know, you're the same party and he's endorsed him.

KEILAR: And if you're a governor, you are working for your state. And when you are, you know, up to here in water and you are looking around at that much devastation, you are doing what you need to to get the resources.

KEILAR: I'd be just as fascinated by a hug between Brian Kemp and Donald Trump, you know? And so (inaudible).

SINGLETON: That's a good one, Boris.

KEILAR: You guys, thank you so much for the very interesting conversation. Singleton, Meghan, and Gloria, we appreciate it. And still to come, thousands of people in Georgia are being told to

shelter in place to keep their windows up, not to run their air conditioners because of this industrial plant fire that caused a chemical reaction and scent chlorine up into the air. We're following the latest there.

SANCHEZ: Plus, we're told the Biden administration now believes Israel could launch a limited ground incursion into southern Lebanon at any moment. It comes as President Biden says he wants a ceasefire now. Details when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:41]

KEILAR: Right now, thousands of people in metro Atlanta are being told to shut their windows, turn off their air conditioners, and stay inside. This is happening after a fire at a chemical plant yesterday released various chemicals, including chlorine, in a big plume of sponge smoke. And that plume is drifting into neighborhoods miles away with some residents reporting a swimming pool-like odor. This is bad news, right? We have CNN's Ryan Young tracking this story for us.

Officials, Ryan, just pushed out an emergency alert. People obviously want to make sure they're doing the right thing. What's the latest here?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the questions are just coming in fast and furious. That alert went out about 43 minutes ago. Everyone's phone started pinging about the air quality. And of course, this -- across the city right now, there is a haze, a visible haze that you can see when you look at the skyline. That's after this large plume of smoke just started spreading. You can see those flames from that chemical plant that was just released just yesterday. They had to shut down the highway around I-20 because that orange plume kept growing and growing, and people became concerned. That chlorine in the air, lots of people reporting, they can feel it. They can smell it. Asking people to shut their air off right now, especially with this heat, is something so many people are concerned about because they feel like they need that to keep cool inside the home. 19,000 people were asked to evacuate yesterday, 90,000 also asked to shelter in place.

Now, the real concern is over the next few days as the winds below this chemical smell all across the city, are there going to be concerns, especially for people who have maybe asthma or breathing conditions? That's a real concern for a lot of people. Take a listen to officials talk about this fire and how they're trying to get it under control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHARON WEBB, ROCKDALE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: When this plume starts out, it could become, you know, very, very dangerous, toxic. So until we get those readings from EPA and EPD. We don't know exactly what the plume consists of. So we want to keep everyone safe and away from it as much as we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Now, it's important to note that Atlanta fire is doing air quality tests and say, so far nothing has been found harmful in the air. Brianna, as you can understand, a lot of people don't believe this. They feel like they're feeling the effects in their lungs from that plume of smoke. They want to see more done. Obviously, though, with the fire being out, they're hoping in the next 24 to 40 hours that plume moves on from this area. But right now, there's so many questions, not only about the chemical, but how it's going to make people feel over the coming days. We'll have to keep monitoring this situation and watching the EPA as they monitor the air around metro Atlanta. Brianna?

KEILAR: Yeah. They're worried and they're worried about what they can't see and what may affect them in a very real way. We see here, actually in these pictures behind me, you can see off in the distance, Stone Mountain. And then you can see, see downtown Atlanta right in the distance. So you can see it's not very far.

YOUNG: And let's not forget one thing here. This is football season here. Every team is going to go outside and practice. You got a lot of folks worried about their players who are going to be playing outside over the next few days. You have other teams cross country going on in soccer. So there are a lot of people who are concerned about what the health concerns will be for the kids in the area as well, who have to work outside or play outside over the next few days.

KEILAR: Yeah, that is such a good point, Ryan. Obviously, people need to be very careful. They need to be very, very careful. Thank you, Ryan.

Still ahead, Israel's Defense Minister says that the next stage of Israel's war against Hezbollah will begin soon. This is coming after the country's Special Forces carried out raids inside of Lebanon. We're going to take you there for a report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

End