HURRICANE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Michael Rollins shook President Donald Trump’s hand Monday [10-15-18] at the front door of his hurricane-ravaged home in the Florida Panhandle, saying he decided to ride out the storm because he didn’t have anywhere else to go…The president, along with first lady Melania Trump, listened to stories of survival and struggle as he surveyed the wreckage of Hurricane Michael. As Trump toured, the death toll stood at 17, with thousands of buildings gutted and tens of thousands of homes and businesses without electricity. Trump paused his election-season campaign blitz for the visit, largely — but not completely — putting politics on the backburner for the day. Trump visited an aid distribution center, set up in a parking lot filled with boxes of diapers, piles of clothes and bottled water. He and the first lady handed out bottles of water to residents who came to see him and tell him their stories about the storm.”
–The Associated Press, “Trump Marvels at Hurricane Damage, Hears Stories of Struggle,” The New York Times online, October 15, 2018