At least 13 people have been confirmed dead due to the massive floods that have caused thousands to be displaced in and around Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a state of emergency is in effect.
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The Republican nominee’s decision to visit Louisiana came after the White House said President Obama was unlikely to break from a New England vacation to survey the damage, despite calls for him to visit and meet with responders and victims. Press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement that the president “wants to ensure that his presence does not interfere with ongoing recovery efforts”; the governor had previously said he wasn’t upset that the president hadn’t announced plans to visit, for precisely that reason.
Donald Trump’s visit Friday (Aug. 19) to see the flood damage in Louisiana was “helpful” by directing national attention to the disaster, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Sunday in a CNN interview.
Louisiana’s governor is defending President Obama for staying away, while thanking Donald Trump for visited the flood-ravaged state.
Ms Clinton, Mr Trump’s Democratic presidential rival, wrote on Facebook that she had spoken with Mr Edwards by phone and urged her followers to donate to organisations involved in recovery efforts, but said she would not visit the state for the time being. “I’m just here to help”.
“The very best way this team can help is to make sure Louisianans have the resources they need”, she said.
“Typically by this point in a storm, I think Red Cross would be receiving a lot more donations; I think there would be more volunteers signing up”, Edwards said.
The first financial analysis of the disaster released Friday by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, an economic development group, suggested that the flood impact may be greater than first thought.
Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, joined him in Baton Rouge, the capital city of a state that is typically a Republican stronghold in presidential elections.
President Obama earlier interrupted his vacation in Martha’s Vineyard to attend an upscale fundraiser for fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The deluge that dumped more than 2-1/2 feet (0.76 meter) on parts of Louisiana has been described as the worst US disaster since Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
“We welcome (Trump) to (Louisiana), but not for a photo-op. That’s all we can say”, the woman shouted to Trump.
In a flooded Louisiana parish, a 3-mile journey down the river to answer the question: Did our house survive?
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Trump may make sarcastic jokes about how he’s not playing golf, hur hur, but the reality is that he is once again making a nuisance of himself at the expense of others.
