Trump jokes ‘at least you got a boat’ to Hurricane Florence victim

It’s a city where the storm blew so strong that boats became stranded on railroad tracks and even people’s front yards.

Telling a storm victim to “have a good time” could be dismissed as Trump misspeaking as he exhausted his limited repertoire of empathic statements, but incredibly, he’s made the flub before.

Trump then spoke to those who lost loved ones in the tragedy.

‘We’ve done a real job, and we’ve got to continue to do that real job because another phase is coming in right now, and we’re going to meet that phase just like we’ve met phase one, ‘ Trump said.

Much of Columbus County, where Fair Bluff is located, was under water, according to Steve Abbott of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, with most roads closed and “driving not advised”.

Trump walked along a street strewn with piles of trash, branches and sodden furniture in storm-wrecked New Bern, offering hugs and handshakes and posing for photos outside of damaged houses.

The Department of Defense has assigned approximately 13,000 personnel to support the recovery, including some 6,000 active-duty personnel and more than 7,000 National Guardsmen.

Ahead of his trip, the president praised the first responders and people who live in the areas affected in a video posted to his Twitter account. This boat just came here.

He also joked with a family who had a large yacht they didn’t own wash up against their house. “I think people definitely did listen to warnings”, Gillie said.

“Washington is with you, Trump is with you, we are all with you 100% and we’ll get through it”, the President said, adding, “Anything you need, you know how to call me”. “They don’t know whose boat that it”.

Some residents are waiting until the floodwater recedes from their homes. They told him the storm would displace them, the pool account noted. Since Trump vigorously disputed the report, calling his administration’s response “an incredible, unsung success”, it led some media figures to question whether he would be responsive to Florence.

“That’s nice”, Trump reportedly replied.

Trump is visiting Temple Baptist Church in New Bern.

“We’re giving you a lot of help”, Trump told one resident.

When Trump visited San Juan last October after Hurricane Maria, he pumped his fists in the air when he landed. It was observed that the event felt more like a campaign rally than a sympathy tour.

“Our state took a gut punch, Mr. President, and our people are still reeling”, as farmers lose crops, roads remain blocked off and residents lose their homes.

The emotional words and comprehensive itinerary stood in contrast with Trump’s trip to Puerto Rico past year after Hurricane Maria, when he drew criticism for tossing rolls of paper towels into the crowd. The mayor of San Juan said the act was “terrible and abominable”.

Trump’s peppy mood in the face of, well, a disaster wasn’t just a one-off.

Jimmy Shackleford, 74, of Burgaw transports his son Jim Shackleford and his wife Lisa, and their pets Izzy, Bella and Nala (in the cage) in the bucket of his tractor as the Northeast Cape Fear River breaks its banks during flooding after Hurricane Florence in Burgaw, North Carolina, U.S., September 17, 2018.