Trump visits Carolinas, pledges swift federal aid
WASHINGTON – His disaster response operation under scrutiny, President Donald Trump pledged complete federal assistance Wednesday to areas of the Carolinas hit hard by floods after Hurricane Florence.
“The money will come as fast as you need it,” Trump told officials during a briefing at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina.
The president stopped first at the Marine Corps station in Havelock, North Carolina. Thousands of homes and roads are under water in the Tar Heel state.
“This is a tough hurricane – one of the wettest we’ve ever seen, from the standpoint of water,” Trump said in a video tweeted out Wednesday.
The storm is responsible for at least 37 deaths in the Carolinas and Virginia. Some locations received more than 30 inches of rain. Rivers are still cresting, and tens of thousands of people remain evacuated from their homes. More than 200,000 homes and businesses remain without power.
The president also visited flooded areas near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.