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."
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