Trump declares 'God is strongly with us' as he visits hurricane-ravaged Georgia
Former President Donald Trump invoked the name of God several times as he visited hurricane-ravaged Georgia on Monday.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump shared a clip of his remarks on Monday in Valdosta, Georgia. Trump, the Republican nominee for president of the United States in the 2024 presidential election, visited the city after Hurricane Helene unleashed catastrophic damage on it and other cities throughout the southern U.S.
“In our hearts ... God is strongly with us and the American people are stronger than any challenge that stands in our way,” he said. “Working together, we will overcome these hardships, we will endure, we will rebuild Valdosta, every other town that has been so badly hit. And we will emerge stronger, more united and more prosperous than ever before.”
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The clip concluded with Trump declaring, “We pray to God for those that have been so badly injured and, in particular, for the people that are no longer with us.”
In a separate post sharing the full video of his remarks, the former president delivered a message “to every family that has been displaced here in Georgia, in North Carolina, and throughout the region.”
“You are in our prayers today, and throughout the long weeks that lie ahead,” he wrote. “We love you — we are with you — and we will be back again and again.”
Trump made the remarks as he stood beside the Rev. Franklin Graham, CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the charitable organization Samaritan’s Purse, the organization's volunteers, and state and local leaders.
After proclaiming “We pray to God throughout this long week, the long weeks that lay ahead,” Trump led the audience in “a moment of silence and prayer” for those who lost their lives as a result of the storm.
In addition to mentioning God multiple times in a speech delivered in one of the areas hardest hit by the storm, Trump authorized a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the victims of Hurricane Helene. As of Tuesday evening, the fundraiser has raised more than $3.3 million, far exceeding its initial goal of $1 million.
Five days after the storm made landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast and brought flooding storm surge to the Sunshine State as well as catastrophic flooding to many other southern states, millions of people remain without power in the hardest hit areas.
According to Poweroutage.us, which keeps track of electrical outages in the U.S., more than 400,000 customers remain without power in Georgia, nearly 600,000 power outages persist in South Carolina, and nearly 400,000 are without power in North Carolina.
More than 50,000 people are without power in both Florida and Virginia. President Joe Biden elaborated on the damage caused by the storm as he provided an update on his administration’s efforts to assist in the recovery efforts Tuesday: “There’s been reports of over 100 dead and — as a consequence of this storm, and there are reports of up [to] … 600 people unaccounted for because they can’t be contacted.”
Over the weekend, Biden approved major disaster declarations in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, and a similar declaration was issued in Georgia on Monday. These pronouncements from the White House enable victims recovering from the storm in select counties to receive funding from the federal government.
Meanwhile, the president has approved emergency declarations in Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama, which authorize the deployment of federal resources to assist local governments in the provision of “evacuation and shelter support.” Biden indicated during his remarks on Tuesday that he planned to visit North Carolina later in the week, possibly on Wednesday or Thursday.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
