President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence made their customary appearance in disaster-ridden Florida this week, but not before the media slammed both of them for being late to the party.
By now it should come as no surprise that the Main Stream Media will take any opportunity to criticize President Trump. We’ve heard just about every form of critique whether it’s about who’s in his cabinet, who he shakes hands with and who he does not, what shoes his wife wears during disasters, to whether or not his possibly autistic son is destined to become a member of the Kekistan Party.
Now, he’s being taken to task for not rushing down to Florida during the disaster. Now, we’ll grant our friends in the MSM that it would be customary for the president to head to the scene of a major natural disaster to make a photo op out of an expensive show of concern almost immediately. But the president has said that rather than spend public funds to fly Airforce One to Florida and say things that he could say from the White House — or wherever else he might happen to be — he would wait until his presence would not exacerbate the problem.
One might ask, what problems he believed his presence might cause, and rightly so. Well, it may not be exactly common knowledge, but it happens that whenever the President of the United States travels to any location traffic gets jammed up, helicopters swarm over head, the Secret Service has to sweep entire city blocks, businesses shut down and everything within a mile of the President’s path is completely stymied.
It is for this reason that Trump put off traveling to Florida. He knows his presence would only get in the way of rescue efforts, of people trying to return to their homes, and of vital repair work.
Kellyanne Conway explained this earlier this week, telling Fox and Friends earlier this week that the president was avoiding Florida for the time being in order that his presence should not interfere with recovery efforts.
“It’s a very somber day, with Hurricane Irma still on its path and everyone remembering 9/11, of course,” she said. “The President has been in contact with Florida officials. You’ve seen an administration-wide coordination.”
Irma left jaw-dropping devestation in Florida. The death toll was marked at 12 at by the time Conway delivered these statements. And while the area was beginning to rebound from the effects of this historic hurricane, still, millions of Floridians and Georgians were without power. There was a warning of a significant risk of carbon monoxide poisoning due to disrupted structures both natural and man-made. And, of course, there was still a significant amount of standing water in many areas.
When asked whether Trump and his wife would be visiting earlier this week, Conway said, “As you know, the President visited Texas two separate times and Louisiana, so it’s clear that he’s committed to visiting Florida. The President has been clear he will go to affected areas in Florida if and when people on the ground say that it’s a good time to do so. He will wait for the governor to say it’s good to go and that his presence will not be interfering with any of the local rescue or recovery efforts. It’s terribly important to him that he not impede their work.”
Florida Governor Rick Scott was in constant contact with President Trump and cabinet officials. Scott commented that social media has made it easier for everyone to coordinate emergency efforts during and after that storm.
Conway added that many people on the ground are still struggling to survive. Many who are being prevented by authorities from returning to their homes have nowhere to go. Many people returning to their homes in the Florida Keys have been turned away by Coast Guard and other authorities for safety reasons. Other locations are still partially underwater. Among the acutest concerns is that the combination of standing water and downed electrical structures could pose a deadly hazard to people returning to their homes in affected areas of the state.
“We’re worried about people,” Conway continued. “The President has made it clear that his administration and Congress, are very concerned about the people who are still struggling to survive down there, and that he hopes that despite political differences that everyone in government shares that sentiment and are ready to commit whatever resources they have to help.”
~ Liberty Planet
