GREENVILLE, S.C. — President Joe Biden toured some of the areas hardest-hit by Hurricane Helene via helicopter Wednesday as he and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to different parts of the Southeast to get first-hand looks at the devastation.

Biden and Harris are seeking to demonstrate a larger commitment in helping devastated communities after former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the administration’s response.

Biden landed in Greenville, South Carolina, and then left again to tour affected parts of North Carolina by air, while Harris was in Georgia.

On the tarmac, Biden hugged and grabbed the hand of Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, who was on hand to greet him, as was Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

The White House said during his flight that he’d also be visiting storm- damaged parts of Florida and Georgia on Thursday.

Manheimer said they could not close down the area’s one operable road for Biden’s motorcade. The White House said Harris had also spoken to the mayor and was planning her own trip to North Carolina soon.

Harris’ stop, meanwhile, is serving as an additional political test in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. She’s trying to step into a role for which Biden is well known — showing empathy that Americans expect in times of tragedy — in the closing stretch of her White House campaign.

She landed Wednesday in Augusta, Georgia, and was greeted by Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Harris last visited scenes of natural disasters as a California senator, including when she went to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017 and when she walked through charred wreckage in Paradise, California, after the Camp Fire in 2018.

Trump traveled to Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday with a charity organization that brought trucks of fuel, food, water and other supplies. He accused Biden of “sleeping” and not responding to calls from Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. But Kemp had spoken with Biden the previous day, and the governor said the state was getting everything it needed.

Biden was infuriated by Trump’s claim, saying Trump was “lying, and the governor told him he was lying.”

“Even before Hurricane Helene hit, I directed my team to do everything possible to prepare to support communities in the storm’s path,” Biden said in a statement. “I mobilized the entire Federal government to bring every possible resource to the fight to save lives and help those in urgent need.”