“The president is mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders and wants to ensure that his presence does not interfere with ongoing recovery efforts”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in explaining why he won’t go until next week.
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Obama has played more than 300 rounds of golf, mostly with friends and White House staffers, since he took office seven years ago.
Roughly 70,000 people have reportedly registered for individual assistance, and roughly 9,000 have filed flood insurance claims in Baton Rouge and other parts of Louisiana, for which Obama has declared a state of emergency. President Barack Obama returns from vacation rested and ready for a busy fall, including pressing Congress for Zika funding and fending off congressional attacks over the administration’s $400 million “leverage” payment to Iran.
Donald Trump and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) canceled a planned event in NY on Friday to tour the flood damage in Baton Rouge, the Associated Press reported.
In a statement, the White House said Obama has been receiving updates on the Louisiana flooding during his vacation with his family at the millionaire’s playground of Martha’s Vineyard.
The White House will continue to push for money to help keep the mosquito-borne Zika virus from spreading and develop a vaccine.
Obama asked Congress for $1.9 billion this year for Zika prevention.
Lawmakers will be in session for just a month before again taking off to campaign for November elections that include the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate as well as presidential elections.
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The Advocate says if Obama was able to “interrupt his vacation for a swanky fundraiser for fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, as he did on Monday, then surely he can make time to show up for a catastrophe that’s displaced thousands”. “The President today directed his team to coordinate with Louisiana officials to determine an appropriate time for him to visit, and together they have determined that the President will visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday, August 23rd”. Obama will become the first American president to visit Laos.
