Former President Donald Trump took credit for the deployment of Elon Musk-led Starlink satellites to aid communication restoration in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.
However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) contradicted this claim, stating that the decision was already in place before Trump’s alleged involvement.
What Happened: Trump announced at an event in Valdosta, Georgia, that he had discussed the deployment of Starlink satellites with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, in regions devastated by Hurricane Helene, reported Business Insider.
“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. We know that,” he said on Monday.
Soon after, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates took to X, formerly Twitter, and said, “This is already happening.”
According to FEMA, they had already arranged with Starlink to dispatch Starlink terminals to North Carolina, one of the areas most severely affected by the hurricane.
The decision for this deployment was made on Sunday, a day before Trump’s speech. The agency also disclosed that 40 Starlink satellite systems were already in place in North Carolina to aid “responder communications.”
An additional 140 satellites are en route to assist in repairing the communication infrastructure, FEMA said.
Jaclyn Rothenberg, FEMA’s director of public affairs, told the report that Trump was not involved in the decision-making process.
Why It Matters: The aftermath of Hurricane Helene left more than 100 people dead and millions without power.
Hurricane Helene is now among the deadliest U.S. hurricanes in the past 50 years, ranking third behind Hurricane Katrina, which claimed 1,833 lives, and Hurricane Ian, which resulted in 150 deaths.
On Monday, it was also reported that in the crisis, Apple’s latest software update, iOS 18, had also stepped up, with its satellite messaging feature proving instrumental in aiding survivors.
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