POLITICAL STORM

Elon Musk Wades Into White House and Trump Spat Over Hurricane Helene Starlink Access

The tech mogul’s satellite system is being used to help areas devastated by Helene.

Former President Donald Trump said Monday that he’s getting billionaire and newly minted MAGA backer Elon Musk to send Starlink satellite terminals to areas reeling from the devastation left by Hurricane Helene—something the White House and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said was already happening.

Speaking at an event in Valdosta, Georgia, Trump said he “just spoke to Elon” after people in the region asked him if it would be possible to sort out a connection to Starlink, which operates a network of 6,000 satellites that beams mobile broadband internet down to earth.

“We want to get Starlink hooked up because they have no communication whatsoever and Elon will always come through,” he added.

Responding to Trump’s remarks, White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a post on Musk-owned X: “This is already happening.”

Bates linked to a media release from FEMA, published Sunday, which said that in North Carolina—the state worst hit by Hurricane Helene—“40 Starlink satellite systems are available to help with responder communications and an additional 140 satellites are being shipped to assist with communications infrastructure restoration.”

Bloomberg News reported that Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall said on Monday that FEMA planned to install 30 Starlink receivers in the state that day.

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Musk, however, confirmed in the early hours of Tuesday morning, in a tweet, that Trump “alerted me to additional people who need Starlink Internet in North Carolina,” suggesting the former president and his team did flag to the company communities in need of assistance. “We are sending them terminals right away,” Musk added.

Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival in the presidential race, have jockeyed to portray themselves as best suited to handle a crisis in the wake of Helene. Georgia and North Carolina are both battlegrounds that could determine the election outcome in November.

Trump has used the aftermath of the hurricane to launch baseless attacks on President Joe Biden, falsely claiming Biden was “sleeping” when Georgia governor Brian Kemp tried to reach him.

Kemp confirmed Trump’s allegation is false, saying that Biden phoned him up after the storm and asked “‘Hey, what do you need?’” and told the governor to “call him directly” for assistance, which Kemp said he appreciated.

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