Louisiana has experienced some record flooding this week. At least three people have died, 40,000 homes have been damaged, and 30,000 people have been rescued.
Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, used the opportunity to go down to Louisiana for a photo opportunity, even though the Governor, John Bel Edwards, told him not to.
A spokesman for Edwards’ office said:
“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 sizable donation to the LA Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of the storm.”
A relief worker slammed Trump for his behavior in Louisiana. Trump and his vice presidential nominee, Mike Pence, spent about one minute handing out supplies from a truck.
Relief worker, Neva Butkus, said:
“Seriously. Where is the check. Like where is the f***ing check. My people are drowning. My co-workers and family and friends have lost everything. My friends and co-workers that haven’t lost everything are taking off work (my boyfriend is taking PTO) to clean out people’s homes and rip out sheet rock and carpet. Give us money or GTFO. I don’t want to see you in your suit in AUGUST carrying boxes off a truck like you care about us.”
President @BarackObama spoke to Louisiana flooding victims in Baton Rouge: "We are heartbroken by the loss of life."https://t.co/1hO92aREie
— New York Times Video (@nytvideo) August 23, 2016
President Barack Obama went down to the flood-ravaged area this week. He said:
“Sometimes once the flood waters pass, people’s attention spans pass. This is not a one off. This is not a photo-op issue. This is how do you make sure that a month from now, three months from now, six months from now, people still are getting the help that they need. I need all Americans to stay focused on this. If you’re watching this today, make sure that you find out how you can help. You can go to volunteers.louisiana.gov, or you can go to fema.gov, or you can go to whitehouse.gov. We’ll tell you. We’ll direct you how you can help.”
The President assured that they will be taken care of. He did a lot more than just stand in front of a truck and hand out Play-Doh. This is how a president should act.
Here is a video of Obama speaking there:
