President surveys Florence aftermath

Offers hot dogs, comfort during visit to Carolinas

NEW BERN, N.C. — President Donald Trump handed out hot dogs, hugs and comforting words in the Carolinas on Wednesday as he surveyed the wreckage left by Hurricane Florence.

With residents still recovering from torrential rains that left widespread destruction and injury, Trump sought to strike a balance between comforter and cheerleader.

During a packed day, a windbreaker-clad Trump visited North and South Carolina, distributed meals at a church, walked amid piles of sodden furniture in damaged neighborhoods, offered hugs and handshakes to residents and discussed the response efforts with local and state officials.

“America grieves with you, and our hearts break for you. God bless you,” he said during a briefing at a marine base in Havelock, North Carolina. “We will never forget your loss. We will never leave your side. We’re with you all the way.”

Trump made his whirlwind tour through the Carolinas five days after the storm, which was blamed for at least 37 deaths in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

North and South Carolina both backed Trump in the 2016 election, and the president largely saw people who were happy to greet him. One man told the president he’d named

his dog after Trump.

After a briefing on the recovery effort in North Carolina, Trump helped hand out hot dogs and chips at a Baptist church in New Bern, a riverfront city that experienced severe flooding. The president leaned over and checked in with people as they drove through to pick up food.

“How’s the house?” he asked one person. “You take care of yourself,” he said.

Trump also praised the volunteers, at one point hugging a young helper and telling his parents, “You did a good job.”

Trump later traveled to Conway, South Carolina, where more flooding is expected still. He toured a neighborhood where a street was already submerged under water.

“Is everybody OK?” he asked those gathered, assuring them it was “going to be OK.”

“Lot of money coming from Washington,” he promised.

Evan Vucci The Associated Press President Donald Trump visits a Conway, S.C., neighborhood impacted by Hurricane Florence on Wednesday with FEMA Administrator Brock Long, left, and Gov. Henry Mcmaster, second from left.