President arrives to see tornado devastation
Trump pledges support, aid for storm victims
PUTNAM COUNTY, Tenn. – President Donald Trump encountered a flattened landscape of shredded homes, snapped trees and broken families when he arrived Friday on the Cumberland Plateau.
Trump came to survey the fallout from deadly tornadoes that tore through Tennessee this week, leaving 25 dead. Before he left, he pledged to support the survivors, many of whom had lost homes, belongings and loved ones.
“They’re wiped out. They have nothing,” Trump said after touring a residential cul de sac that had been reduced to a scrap heap.
Mountains of splintered drywall, bricks and tree branches were piled high in the mud. He stood on a long paved driveway that no longer led to a home.
“We’re going to take care of what they need,” Trump said. “We’re going to be with them all the way.”
Gov. Bill Lee, who stood with the president while he talked with supporters, said he was optimistic Tennessee would recover.
“Tennesseans have shown up. We’re the Volunteer State: We’ve shown up by the thousands,” Lee said. “We’re going to overcome. This state knows how to do that.”
Residents wrapped in blankets and heavy coats offered Trump a warm reception, applauding him, embracing him and thanking him for coming.
It was the first time a U.S. president had visited the Cookeville area.
“I love them. I love them very much,” Trump said of the people he met. “That’s why I’m here.”
Trump arrived in Tennessee on Friday morning. He traveled by Air Force One to Nashville, emerging onto the tarmac in a red “Keep America Great” hat.
He quickly greeted Nashville Mayor John Cooper, the governor and other officials before getting into a Marine One and for a helicopter trip east.
In Putnam County, Trump’s motorcade slowly wound down narrow country roads, past farmland and a cemetery. Onlookers gathered on their front porches and lawns to watch him pass by.
Hundreds of observers lined the roads in the county seat of Cookeville, recording the moment with their phones, unfurling banners and waving flags.
Digital billboards in the area welcomed Trump with affection, showing him hugging an American flag alongside the message “Our President Cares!”
Residents found some solace in visit
Amid the devastation, local residents found some measure of solace, sharing stories of compassion, survival and service with the president.
Lamar Redmond, 61, came to this corner of Putnam County on Friday to pull debris from his 87-year-old mother’s house.
He wasn’t really thinking about the presidential visit – a whipsaw of emotions had overtaken him.
Redmond’s sister and brother-in-law, Cathy and Keith Selby, died when an EF-4 tornado packing wind speeds of 175 mph ripped through his home county. The storm also killed 16 others in Putnam County.
His mother is waiting for power to get restored to the home she’s lived in since 1965. Insurance adjusters were combing through her house, as well as the Selby family home, just before Trump’s visit.
But when Trump arrived, Redmond and his family gathered around the president in a half circle.
He reached out, shook the president’s hand and asked for help.
Redmond said he doesn’t want anyone in the community to get left behind. He and his family are thinking of their neighbors, including a woman next door who doesn’t have home insurance.
“Mom and dad were always good about the insurance,” Redmond said. “But I worry about everyone else.”
Redmond said Trump reassured him. The president issued an emergency declaration Thursday that will open a flow of federal money to Middle Tennessee.
“He is a caring president,” Redmond said. “I thought he was just going to do a flyby, but he was out here walking among us.”
The presidential encounter didn’t distract him from his focus. It’s time to rebuild.
But the urgency of the need doesn’t erase the searing and unexpected grief that is only days old. Redmond said it’s hard for him to think about camping trips, where two less people will gather around the campfire.
“I just want to help my family get their lives back together,” he said. “We are going to come back together and carry on.”
Trump: Case study on what should be done after a disaster
Later, when Trump visited a nearby church-turnedsupply center, he shook hands with smiling residents standing behind plastic tables. He held a baby wearing a bow and took a selfie with a teenage boy who lost a family member in the storm.
Plastic water bottles, boxes and clothing were stacked high on the tables.
Before he left in the early afternoon, Trump heard stories of altruism that he said were uniquely inspiring.
“It’s a case study – a case study of what should be done and how it can be done. It’s Tennessee,” Trump said.
“The Volunteer State,” answered U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who along with U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, accompanied Trump on his trip.
“It is indeed the Volunteer State,” Trump said. “Thank you all very much. Great job.”
Trump told local leaders across the region he would use the might of the federal government to bolster local efforts.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper spoke briefly with Trump on Friday morning after he exited Air Force One in Nashville.
Cooper’s office said the mayor told Trump the city would need federal support during the tornado recovery. Trump said Nashville would get it.
Cooper also spoke with Federal Emergency Management Agency staff and Tennessee senators on the tarmac. His office stressed the importance of photographing the damage to homes.
Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton said the president’s visit in and of itself was a boon.
“It provides such comfort to our community that he cares,” Shelton said. “Our community is very appreciative of that.”
Shelton said the tornadoes brought “the most difficult day” to his city, but he said an outpouring of support from across the country had been critical.
“Continue to pray,” he said. “We’ve got 18 families that are going to be burying people.”
Yihyun Jeong contributed to this report.
Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and atamburin@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tamburintweets.