Trump, Pence headed to Baton Rouge

Trump visited flood-hit Louisiana with Mike Pence.

“You’re going to rebuild”, said Trump, who also wrapped Morgan in a hug.

State Governor John Bel Edwards’ office said Trump did not call to discuss plans.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump flew to Louisiana on Friday with his running mate, Governor Mike Pence of IN, to survey damages and speak to local officials and residents.

Donald Trump’s first general election TV ad contrasts his strict approach to immigration with what he calls Hillary Clinton’s plan to do “more of the same, only worse”.

On Friday, Trump’s motorcade drove past piles of possessions and building materials that had been ripped out of flooded homes en route to Greenwell Springs Baptist Church in a hard-hit portion of East Baton Rouge Parish.

During the visit, Trump met with first responders who conducted rescues in the flooding even as their own homes were damaged.

The flooding, which began last week after record-breaking rains of more than 75 centimeters, has been described as the worst US disaster since Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, joined him in Baton Rouge, the capital city of a state that is typically a Republican stronghold in presidential elections.

“Instead, we hope he’ll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA [Louisiana] Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm”, the statement read.

Critics have bashed President Obama for not cutting his current vacation in Martha’s Vineyard short to travel to the Bayou State, though Edwards said Thursday that he would prefer Obama wait to visit until authorities won’t be pulled away from relief efforts in order to coordinate a presidential visit. Obama aired a similar spot.

Obama’s trip won’t interfere with his summer vacation, as he was scheduled to return to Washington on Sunday.

With pressure mounting, the White House said after Trump’s appearance that Obama would visit Louisiana on Tuesday to survey the damage.

Friday morning, the president received an update from DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson on the ongoing response and recovery efforts following the Secretary’s trip to the region on Thursday.

“Any great leader’s going to want to put his feet on the ground”, Stermer said.

In the state, more than 70,000 residents had registered for individual assistance and more than 9,000 had filed flood insurance claims, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In 2005, then-President George W. Bush was faulted for flying over but not touching down in Louisiana in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The GOP nominee visited water-ravaged neighborhoods, where debris piled up in front lawns and on curbs as people continued to muck out their homes.

Yet the trip did little to obscure the turmoil in Trump’s campaign, punctuated early Friday when Trump announced that he’d accepted campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s offer to resign.

“He’s trying to make a play for compassion and African-American voters”, O’Connell said, “and more importantly he’s trying to make sure suburban white voters say, ‘Look, you maybe misstated things, and I don’t like your temperament, but your heart is in the right place'”.

“Our prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones, and we send them our deepest condolences”, Trump said.

“He took time out of his busy schedule to come here”, Michelli said.

The cast and crew of “NCIS: New Orleans” are taking time to give back to the state where their show is filmed.