VALDOSTA — A former president joined the list of officials touring damage in the Valdosta area Monday.

Donald Trump, who is running to regain the presidency, spoke with reporters and officials outside the remains of Chez What, a furniture store on Ashley Street that was decimated by Hurricane Helene.

Over the weekend, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell had also toured damage wrought by the hurricane that struck the area in the early hours of Friday morning.

Trump said he had brought with him truckloads of supplies — fuel, water and food — that would be distributed by Samaritan’s Purse, a charity that had already arrived in Valdosta to assist people who had been hit hard by the hurricane.

“We’re here to stand in solidarity with all the people of Georgia and all the people suffering in the terrible aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” Trump said.

He praised the first responders, National Guard and servicemen who were providing assistance throughout the area hit by the storm, which came ashore on Florida’s Gulf Coast Thursday night as a Category 4 storm and is believed to have still been Category 2 when it reached Valdosta.

Trump urged the federal government to assist the storm’s victims, especially the farmers.

“The farmers have been affected very, very badly,” Trump said. “Their crops and their livelihoods have been so badly affected.”

He urged improved access to loans and disaster aid for farmers.

Trump noted that the country is in the middle of a hard-fought national election, but he sought to portray his visit to Valdosta as non-political.

“When our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters,” he said.

He encouraged residents to look out for one another, to persevere and to pull through “stronger and more prosperous than ever before.”

“In our hearts we know that God is with us, God is strongly with us,” he said. “The American people are stronger than any challenge.”

Franklin Graham, director of Samaritan’s Purse, spoke after Trump.

“The building behind us represents hundreds of thousands of people that have lost homes, businesses, friends, loved ones,” Graham said. “It’s going to take an army of volunteers and people to respond.”

At the request of Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson, Graham closed the event with a prayer. He asked not only for help for the people suffering from Hurricane Helene but that in the upcoming national election, “that Thy will be done.”