On Friday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, are traveling to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to tour damage from recent flooding that has killed at least 13 people and destroyed more than 40,000 homes; more than 70,000 people have registered for federal assistance. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and FEMA head Craig Fugate were in Baton Rouge on Thursday, overseeing federal recovery efforts, but Hillary Clinton has not announced any plans to visit Baton Rouge, nor has President Obama.
In an editorial on Thursday, The Advocate urged Obama to break from his Martha's Vineyard vacation to fly down and bring attention to the flooding and "decisively demonstrate that Louisiana's recovery is a priority for his administration." But in a press conference Thursday, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said that while "the president is welcome to visit whenever he wants to visit," at this point a visit by Obama would be a burden on police and other first responders. "I am not complaining about our federal partnership in any way," he said. "The only downside to not being prominently displayed in the news across the country as it relates to this event, is that perhaps the national attention isn't on it as it relates to donations."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How Tesla has put Elon Musk on track to be the world’s first trillionaireIn The Spotlight The package agreed by the Tesla board outlines several key milestones over a 10-year period
-
Cop30: is the UN climate summit over before it begins?Today’s Big Question Trump administration will not send any high-level representatives, while most nations failed to submit updated plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions
-
‘The Big Crunch’: why science is divided over the future of the universeThe Explainer New study upends the prevailing theory about dark matter and says it is weakening
-
Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica as Category 5 stormSpeed Read The year’s most powerful storm is also expected to be the strongest ever recorded in Jamaica
-
Renewables top coal as Trump seeks reversalSpeed Read For the first time, renewable energy sources generated more power than coal, said a new report
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining USSpeed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquakespeed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across PacificSpeed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resignsSpeed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
-
Wildfires destroy historic Grand Canyon lodgeSpeed Read Dozens of structures on the North Rim have succumbed to the Dragon Bravo Fire
-
Search for survivors continues after Texas floodsSpeed Read A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children
