President Barack Obama, who has come under fire for not disrupting his Martha’s Vineyard vacation to visit a flood-devastated Louisiana, will visit Baton Rouge next week, the White House announced today.
The planned trip to tour the flood devastation will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 23, the White House says. Additional details will be released in the coming days.
“The President is mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders and wants to ensure that his presence does not interfere with ongoing recovery efforts,” The White House says in a statement. “He is also eager to get a first-hand look at the impact of the devastating floods, hear from more officials about the response, including how the federal government can assist, and tell the people of Louisiana that the American people will be with them as they rebuild their community and come back stronger than ever.”
The White House also says the president, while in Martha’s Vineyard, received updates on Louisiana’s flood devastation from U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate, both of whom made separate trips to Louisiana.
Johnson and Fugate met with officials and visited shelters housing those displaced by the catastrophic flooding.
Obama directed his team today to coordinate the trip with Louisiana’s officials. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump arrived in Baton Rouge today to tour the devastation. American Red Cross officials have called the Louisiana flooding the worst U.S. natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy from four years ago.
