Skip to main content

Trump Visits Florida: 'First Responders Are Doing an Incredible Job!'

Share This article

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump got a firsthand look today at some of the damage unleashed by Hurricane Irma in Florida.

The commander-in-chief touched down in Fort Myers, then took a helicopter to Naples, meeting with storm victims in desperate need of electricity.

"We have the largest assembly of human beings in one area for power, and rapidly it's being turned on," President Trump said.

Trump joined Vice President Mike Pence, praising first responders and their quick efforts to save lives.

"First Responders are doing an incredible job and I want to thank everybody," Trump said. "The United States Coast Guard, FEMA, along with Governor Scott, they've really done an amazing job and power is being turned on rapidly."

This is Trump's third trip to a hurricane-affected area in two weeks. He recently paid two visits to see Hurricane Harvey's devastation in Texas.

Irma was a massive storm, blasting through nearly half of the Sunshine State, flooding streets, damaging homes and displacing residents. Areas like the Florida Keys and Naples felt the full fury of the hurricane, and state leaders are still assessing the widespread damage.

"We are with you today, we are going to be with you tomorrow and we will be with you rebuilding Florida bigger and better," Pence said.

Approximately 2 million Floridians have now had their power restored, but 4.9 million people across the peninsula were still without power Thursday.

Utility officials warned it could take a week or more for all areas to be back up and running fully after Florida suffered its worst hurricane hit in a decade.

"I want to thank everybody for their prayers and for giving back," said Governor Rick Scott.



 

Share This article

About The Author

Ben
Kennedy

Ben Kennedy is an Emmy Award-winning White House correspondent for CBN News in Washington, D.C. He has more than a decade of reporting experience covering breaking news nationwide. He's traveled cross country covering the President and scored exclusive interviews with lawmakers and White House officials. Kennedy spent seven years reporting for WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami, Florida. While there he reported live from Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Matthew hit the island. He was the first journalist to interview Diana Nyad moments after her historic swim from Cuba to Key West. He reported