Trump tells mayor not to worry about rising sea levels since his island is 'hundreds of years' old


If you want President Trump to call you in between Cabinet meetings and National Security Council briefings, just go on CNN and say you love him.
That's what the mayor of Tangier Island, Virginia, did last week, and it earned him a phone call on Monday, after the White House was able to track down his home number. The mayor, James "Ooker" Eskridge, told DelmarvaNow he had just come inside after crabbing when he found out Trump was trying to contact him. During his CNN interview, Eskridge said he loved Trump like he was family, and Tangier Island is a "Trump island" that values "the military, and Israel, and religious liberties." When the two finally spoke, Eskridge said Trump told him, "You've got one heck of an island there," adding that after he saw the interview, he had to contact him.
Tangier Island is home to 450 people, and 87 percent of residents voted for Trump. In an interview last year, Eskridge said one of the main concerns in town is erosion; scientists say the island is losing up to 16 feet of land every year. But that's totally fine, Trump told the mayor. "He said not to worry about sea-level rise," Eskridge said. "He said, 'Your island has been there for hundreds of years, and I believe your island will be there for hundreds more.'"
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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