More than 106,000 people have registered for federal disaster aid, with the state saying $20 million has been distributed to individuals so far.
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Obama has been under pressure for days to visit after flooding killed at least 13 people and displaced thousands from their homes this month.
Trump spent more than three hours on Friday visiting flood-affected areas in East Baton Rouge, Livingston and Ascension parishes.
Trump is accusing President Obama of neglecting his duty in not making a personal visit during the flooding. He was greeted by Governor John Bel Edwards at Metropolitan Airport Baton Rouge, the state capital, before undertaking a tour of the region.
Almost 11 years ago, Hurricane Katrina’s crippling of New Orleans and the coasts of MS and Alabama demonstrated how political leaders can not afford to underestimate the gravity of responding to natural disasters with force and immediacy.
“Tuesday’s too late”, Mr Trump told Fox News this weekend.
“We’ve seen this story before in Louisiana, and we don’t deserve a sequel”.
Obama had been criticized for not cutting his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., short to respond to the disaster.
“That’s fine. All these public officials need to see how bad the devastation is so that we can get the government mobilized to come out and give us as much assistance as we can”.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Air Force One defended the timing of the trip, saying the “President is used to people trying to score political points even in situations where they shouldn’t”.
President Obama’s confident that FEMA’s aid money will reach the right people, and state politicians will put aside their differences to do what’s best for their people.
“It means a lot to know you have that support from the highest level”, said Chrisena Brown, as the president surveyed the piles of discarded mattresses, broken appliances and heaps of clothing that line the curbs of her street.
Obama also met Tuesday with family members of police officers killed in last month’s Baton Rouge attack.
A Community Still in Mourning: Cleveland plans to remove the gazebo where 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by police almost two years ago. Last month, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot to death by police in Baton Rouge at close range, an encounter captured on video that spawned immediate outrage.
President Obama urges the Congress to extend unemployment benefits during a specch at the White House’s Rose Garden on Monday, July, 19, 2010.
The numbers are staggering, according to the New Orleans Times Picayune.
Residents such as Denham Springs’ Todd Krichel are still grappling with the scale of the destruction. “You know, I saw what it took to get him in here today, so I just couldn’t imagine pulling those resources when we still had people that were helpless”. “And I pulled down there and it was pretty tough to swallow”.
Obama’s visit came four days after Trump visited flood-ravaged areas around Baton Rouge.
“I don’t think it’s too late”. “The reason I can say that with confidence is because that’s what Americans do”.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of life”, he said after his tour.
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“While we do not doubt the ability of our citizens to recover, we need the help of the federal government”, Edwards said in a statement.
