Louisiana governor: Donald Trump’s visit ‘helpful’

Donald Trump took a swipe at President Obama during his campaign rally in Dimondale, Michigan on Friday afternoon following the New Yorker’s visit to Baton Rouge, where there has been historic flooding. Trump signed hats and shook hands, but turned down a plate of jambalaya.

When a woman thanked him for coming, rather than playing golf like the president has been doing during his New England vacation, Trump replied: “Somebody is, somebody is that shouldn’t be”.

“Nobody understands how bad it is”, Trump told reporters, after briefly helping unload a truck of supplies.

Among his stops was the flood-ravaged home of Jimmy and Olive Morgan in Denham Springs, where floodwaters were still being swept up and wheelbarrows carried out waterlogged computer equipment.

These kinds of visits by political leaders after Hurricane Katrina yielded valuable insights about the challenges of the recovery – problems often not evident unless one sees the devastation up close.

“I just don’t know what we’ll do”, said Morgan.

“You’re going to rebuild”, said Trump, who also wrapped Morgan in a hug. “It’s going to be so attractive”.

The rains left at least 13 people dead, damaged more than 40,000 homes and affected the lives of more than 100,000 people.

Shortly after arriving, Trump’s motorcade drove through the hard-hit community of Central in East Baton Rouge Parish, where ripped up carpet and flooring, furniture and the entire contents of homes were piled on the curb.

But his son, Eric Trump, made clear the controversy was behind the resignation.

Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White says 22 of the state’s public schools were so heavily damaged by flooding that they can’t be opened by next week.

Information for this article was contributed by Melinda Deslatte, Jill Colvin, Kathleen Hennessey, Steve Peoples, Julie Bykowicz and Lisa Lerer of The Associated Press; by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin of The New York Times; by Elizabeth Titus, Kevin Cirilli, Jennifer Jacobs, Sahil Kapur and Billy House of Bloomberg News; and by Abby Phillip of The Washington Post. “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 Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm”, a statement from Edwards’ office read. In coming to Louisiana to survey the scene, Trump was in a venue that potentially plays to his strengths.

Christie faced sharp criticism from many Republicans for warmly greeting Obama when the Democratic president toured Sandy’s damage in New Jersey – just days before the 2012 presidential race against Mitt Romney.

Edwards said he was fine with Obama’s absence, adding that he is in daily contact with the White House about the situation.

“We welcome the president anytime he wants to visit, and I’m glad he waited until Tuesday because the recovery will be started in earnest”, Edwards said.

“My heart breaks for Louisiana, and right now, the relief effort can’t afford any distractions”, he appealed.