President Barack Obama To Visit Flood-Damaged Areas In Louisiana
President Barack Obama will visit Louisiana on Tuesday, August 23 to survey flood-damaged areas.
Obama has faced criticism from some, including Donald Trump, for not ending his vacation to visit the devastated areas in South Louisiana where flooding has claimed the lives of at least 13 and left thousands with no place to call home.
Those denouncing Obama may or may not know that Governor John Bel Edwards has requested that Obama NOT visit due to lack of resources available to accommodate the President.
It is a major ordeal, they free up the interstate for him. We have to take hundreds of local first responders, police officers, sheriffs, deputies and state troopers to provide security for that type of visit. I would just as soon have those people engaged in the response rather than trying to secure the president. So I’d ask him to wait, if he would, another couple weeks.
Before meeting with volunteers in Baton Rouge, Trump did take a shot at Obama pointing out that his absence in Louisiana may be a result of him not being able to "get out of a golf game."
The office of Governor Edwards, who has been vocal about his stance against any politician using Louisiana's tragedy for political gain issued a scathing statement
Donald Trump hasn’t called the governor to inform him of his visit. We welcome him to LA but not for a photo-op. Instead we hope he’ll consider volunteering or making a sizeable donation to the LA Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of the storm.
Trump told reporters he was in Louisiana "to help" but it is unknown at the time of this post whether he or his campaign has made any type of donation to relief efforts.