Trump stepped up that attack Tuesday, tweeting that “President Obama should have gone to Louisiana days ago, instead of golfing”. They did so after the shooting death of Alton Sterling and the unrest that followed in July.
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Only about 12 percent of homes in Baton Rouge are covered by flood insurance. They did so after this month’s unprecedented flood.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday promised federal aid to Louisiana to help the state fully recover from recent serious flooding that has taken at least 13 lives, emphasizing that this is not about creating “a photo opp issue” in the affected areas, in response to the criticism he had received for not making this visit sooner. John Bel Edwards said.
Almost two weeks later, three officers were shot and killed and three more were injured in a shooting near the Baton Rouge police headquarters. Sterling was black; the two officers he struggled with are white.
In a letter he presented to Obama outlining a list of disaster assistance requests, the governor described the people of Louisiana as “strong and resilient”.
“I think it is a bad optics situation when you’re hobnobbing with celebrities at a $34,000-a-plate fundraiser, and really, Trump, he can keep talking about this”, Harrington said. “And so I think it was appropriate”.
Arriving on schedule at the Baton Rouge airport, Obama paused to speak with Louisiana’s governor and lieutenant governor.and then departed for what was scheduled to be a 40-minute tour of flood-affected homes in Zachary, La.
More than 60,000 homes have been damaged by the days-long flood.
More than 115,000 people have registered for federal disaster aid, while some 20 million dollars has been distributed to individuals so far, the state government said. Eight years of memories sit in a rubble pile by the curb.
As she watched Obama greet her neighbors, resident Chrisena Brown, an administrator at Southern University, said her home got 3 feet of water. Her family emptied the house over the weekend and her husband planned to start gutting it Tuesday afternoon.
“The president’s visit here today is just right on time”, she said.
She said also was happy that the president had made a decision to come.
“That means a lot to know that you have that support from the highest level”, she said. Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and David Vitter also met the president on the tarmac. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, and Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden stopped to chat with those waiting in their driveways.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited Louisiana last week, and goaded the golf-loving president about his absence.
“One of the benefits of being five months short of leaving here is that I don’t worry too much about politics”, Obama said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is opening additional disaster recovery centers in the Baton Rouge area. “FEMA has enough money for now to cover the costs that can be absorbed”.
Obama says people’s lives have been upended by the flooding.
“This is not a one-off”, Obama emphasized.
“I can tell you what the president has been focused on”, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained.
Edwards said afterward that he talked to Obama about future funding for flood diversion projects, as opposed to programs aimed at elevating homes.
Discussions are already underway within the Louisiana delegation to push to reduce that 25 percent match to 10 percent.
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“Thousands of displaced homeowners pose the biggest threat to the region’s recovery, and some form of housing assistance beyond what FEMA’s rules presently allow will nearly certainly be necessary”.
