Donald Trump To Visit Louisiana Areas Hit by Flooding

Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence plan to tour flooded areas in Louisiana on Friday.

Details of the trip have not been publicly released, and Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Richard Carbo, a spokesman for the Louisiana governor’s office, told CBS on Thursday that they had not been contacted about the Republican nominee’s trip. Carbo said he welcomed Trump to the state, “but not for a photo-op,” and that he should “consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm.”

Trump opened his speech in North Carolina Thursday night with words for Louisiana, “a state that is very special to me,” he said.

“When one state hurts, we all hurt – and we must all work together to lift each other up,” Trump continued. “Our prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones, and we send them our deepest condolences. Though words cannot express the sadness one feels at times like this, I hope everyone in Louisiana knows that our country is praying for them and standing with them to help them in these difficult hours.”

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On Friday morning, Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas who ran against Trump in the primary, criticized President Barack Obama for not visiting the state himself. “It’s a dereliction of duty,” Huckabee said on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria, Politico reports. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited Louisiana on Thursday.

At least 13 people are dead and tens of thousands more displaced after 48 hours of rain devastated southern Louisiana. The Red Cross has said it is the worst natural disaster to hit the United States since Hurricane Sandy four years ago, CNN reports.

[CBS News]