Trump cancels trip to Poland, gives update on 'monster' Hurricane Dorian

Trump is sending Mike Pence to Poland in his place

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 30 August 2019

President Trump said Thursday that he has canceled his upcoming visit to Poland to help "ensure that all resources of the federal government are focused on" Hurricane Dorian, currently a Category 2 storm but projected to swell into a potentially catastrophic Category 4 hurricane when it slams into Florida's eastern coast early Monday. "The storm looks like it could be a very, very big one indeed," he added.

In a video Trump posted to Twitter later Thursday, he said the government is "working very, very hard on Hurricane Dorian," which he said is "looking like it could be an absolute monster," maybe "bigger or at least as big as Andrew," the Category 5 hurricane that devastated Florida in 1992.

Trump said he will send Vice President Mike Pence to Poland in his stead. Originally, the Polish trip was to include a World War II commemoration ceremony and a visit to a military base where U.S. troops serve alongside Polish forces, but Trump had already scrapped the base visit, The Washington Post reports. He also abruptly called off the first half of the trip, to Denmark, last week.

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In fact, Trump "never appeared to be enthusiastic" about the second trip to Europe in two weeks, even before Hurricane Dorian, the Post reports. Also, "Trump owns several properties along Florida's eastern coast, including his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach and three golf courses in West Palm Beach, Jupiter, and Doral, west of Miami."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.