• Trump said he called Elon Musk to discuss sending Starlink satellites to areas affected by Helene.
• FEMA had already coordinated with Starlink to send satellites to North Carolina.
• The timing and nature of Trump’s stated call with Musk remains unclear.

Former President Donald Trump said he spoke with SpaceX CEO and recent political ally Elon Musk about sending Starlink satellites to areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

But the federal government had already decided on Sunday to send the satellites there Areas requiring internet access.

At an event in Valdosta, Georgia, Trump said some North Carolina residents had “no communication” before mentioning his conversation with Musk and Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service.

“I just spoke to Elon. I’ll get him – we want to connect Starlink because they have no communication at all. And Elon will always come through. We know that,” Trump said on Monday. “And so we are working to connect them. They asked me whether it was possible or not. We will try to set up Starlink there as quickly as possible.”

However, the White House was quick to point out that a Starlink partnership was already underway.

In a post on X, owned by Musk, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said: “This is already happening.”

He linked to a statement from FEMA that said 40 Starlink satellite systems were deployed in North Carolina to support “responder communications.” According to the statement, 140 satellites will be deployed to help repair communications infrastructure. The statement was released on Monday, the same day Trump gave his speech.

FEMA told Business Insider that the federal government decided to send satellites on Sunday.

“Administrator Criswell made the decision yesterday to send Starlink to North Carolina,” Public Affairs Director Jaclyn Rothenberg said by phone, referring to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

Rothenberg told BI that Trump was not involved in the decision-making process.

As of Monday afternoon, the nature and timing of Trump’s stated call with Musk remained unclear. When BI asked the former president’s campaign for clarification, spokesman Steven Cheung responded: “Where is Kamala?”

SpaceX and a representative for Elon Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

At least 119 people died as a result of the storm. Relief efforts continue as survivors begin to come to terms with the extent of the devastation.