Trump and Kemp exchange praise in their first meeting in more than four years

Donald Trump and Brian Kemp showed up together again for the first time in more than four years. The Republican candidate and the Georgia governor were at an event in Evans, surrounded by boxes of bottled water, diapers and other items to be donated to victims of Hurricane Helene. The two spoke briefly and then participated in a briefing on hurricane damage in Georgia.

Trump and Kemp appeared together for the event, greeted those in attendance and then each said a few words. The Georgia governor was the one to introduce the former president, whom he later greeted for the cameras, marking the first handshake between the two in a long time.

The Georgia governor praised the former president during the event and said he appreciated his help in keeping "the nation's attention on those who are hurting in Georgia."

Asked later about his relationship with Kemp, Trump asserted that he is "great," prompting the reporter to remind him of previous criticisms. "No, no, no. It's great. We work together. We work together. We've always worked together very well, very, really, well," the former president added.

The former president was also asked about his series of visits to states affected by the hurricane, to which he took supplies and even started a collection on GoFundMe to raise money.

"I'm not thinking about voters right now, I'm thinking about lives. And to be honest, it's much more important than anything else. But we're thinking about lives, a lot of lives lost, a lot of people missing, and that's what I would focus on right now," Trump added.

So far, more than 200 people have lost their lives to Hurricane Helene, which attacked with varying degrees of force over Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

The back and forth between Trump and Kemp

As for their relationship, Trump endorsed Kemp's 2018 gubernatorial bid days before the runoff against Casey Cagle, then the state's lieutenant governor.

Kemp swept the head-to-head runoff and narrowly defeated Stacey Abrams in the general election. The two maintained a good bond until the 2020 presidential election. Since then, the former president repeatedly attacked the governor, even endorsing David Perdue in the 2022 primary, in which Kemp also won handily.

The tension continued into this year's election cycle, with Trump again lashing out at Kemp and Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state. "My goal is to win this November and save our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats, not engage in petty personal insults, attack other Republicans or reminisce about the past. You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it," the governor responded to him in X.

Kemp recently spoke to VOZ and claimed he hadn't spoken to Trump since the 2020 elections, though he wasn't upset about it. He did, however, confirm his endorsement of the former president despite their previously estranged relationship: "I'm going to support the entire Republican ticket, including President Trump."

Peace finally arrived in late September, when Trump surprisingly posted the following on X: "Thanks to Brian Kemp for all his help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, more importantly, our country."

"I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he added.