CRISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump visited hurricane-scarred Florida on Thursday [9-14-17], landing in Fort Myers to tour areas recovering from Hurricane Irma and was met with praise from state officials for the federal government’s response…
It was Mr. Trump’s third visit to storm-ravaged parts of the United States in the past few weeks after two major hurricanes, and he again praised the federal government’s performance…
Hurricane Irma hit South Florida on Sunday, leaving the Florida Keys with the most damage and millions of people without power across the Southeast. Eight people died in a nursing home in Hollywood, Fla., and others were hospitalized after the hurricane knocked out the air conditioning in the nursing home. As of Wednesday, at least 14 other deaths in Florida, six in South Carolina and Georgia and 38 across the Caribbean had been attributed to the storm. Some 600 shelters have been opened in Florida, Mr. Scott said.
The governor praised the federal government for its swift response to the storm and said officials from the military and the Coast Guard were ‘constantly calling’ and asking what resources they could provide to help the state. Mr. Scott’s compliment was notable, as the federal government’s response to hurricanes is regularly measured against its botched efforts after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005.
Thursday’s visit was the president’s first to Florida since the storm. Mr. Trump visited Texas and Louisiana earlier this month after Hurricane Harvey to see the rescue efforts there.”
-Eileen Sullivan, “Trump Visits Florida to Assess Hurricane Irma Damage,” The New York Times online, Sept. 14, 2017