'We want them to be happy'
Prez lifts 'cane-hit Floridians' spirits in a snap
President Trump traveled to hurricane-ravaged Florida Thursday to view recovery efforts and play the role of consoler in chief — handing out hoagies and saying he wanted to keep residents “happy.”
“This is a state that I know very well, as you understand,” Trump said in a stricken Naples neighborhood, where he was joined by First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
“These are special, special people and we love ’em,” Trump told reporters while surrounded by residents upended by the storm. “We’re there for you 100 percent.”
Four days after Hurricane Irma slammed the state, Trump emerged from Air Force One in Fort Myers with his entourage, including Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long.
“We’re going to see some of the folks to make sure they are happy, because we’re trying to keep them as happy as we can,” the president said, striking an odd note amid the devastation.
“In many cases, they lost their homes, and it’s a tough situation,” he said at an airport hangar where he stood next to Florida Gov. Rick Scott, whom he called “absolutely outstanding.”
“I just, again, I have to say that — what do I know? But I hope this man right here, Rick Scott, runs for the Senate.”
The president said efforts to restore power across the state were “weeks ahead of schedule — most of it outside the Keys, where we have a really special problem. But we’re working very hard.
“There are more electrical people in this state than I think accumulated anywhere in the world,” he added.
Scott said that electricity had been restored to more than 4 million Florida customers but that there were still more than 2 million still waiting.
Trump then boarded the Marine One chopper for a short hop to hard-hit Naples 40 miles to the south, where he spent several minutes passing out food at a trailer-park community for people 55 and older.
Residents snapped selfies as they picked up their food from the president, the first lady, the veep and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. When a man wearing a “Trump for President” T-shirt arrived to take a sandwich, the commander in chief beamed.
“You’re wearing a good shirt — take two!” he said.
During Trump’s first trip to Texas after Hurricane Harvey, he faced criticism for his perceived lack of empathy toward storm victims and for not touring damaged areas.
During a do-over trip, he stopped in Texas and Louisiana, where he met evacuees and toured debris-filled areas.