President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump landed in Florida today to tour the areas devastated by Hurricane Michael last week.
Michael, one of the strongest storms to hit the region in years, has killed at least 19, with dozens of people missing.
With 155 mph winds and storm surges reaching 14 feet, Michael was the most powerful storm on record to ever hit the Florida Panhandle.
More than 250,000 are still without power across the Southeast.
When Trump arrived, he praised local officials for their response.
“The job they’ve done in Florida has been incredible,” said Trump. “Likewise, in Georgia.”
The Trump’s lent their time at a FEMA distribution center, where they handed out bottled water and took selfies with locals.
They also took an aerial tour of the devastated coastline, flying over barren trees and roofless homes.
The Trumps then toured the damage in Lynn Haven, a town north of Panama City. More than 80 percent of homes in Lynn Haven were damaged beyond repair during the storm.
“Somebody said it was like a very wide, extremely wide tornado,” Trump said. “This was beyond any winds they’ve seen for — I guess — 50 years. Nobody has seen anything like it.”
Trump hosted a political rally in Pennsylvania the night of Hurricane Michael’s landfall.
Today he patted himself on the back for the recovery effort in Florida.
“We are doing more than anybody would’ve done, and probably there hasn’t been hits like this, certainly not very often. They say 50 years ago there was one that had this kind of power — 50 years ago, that’s a long time. But we are helping the people, and we will always help the people.”
This warm response in Florida is vastly different from Trump’s words following Hurricane Maria’s devastation from Puerto Rico last year, which killed an estimated 3,000 people and left the entire island without power.
After Maria, nearly two weeks passed before Trump visited the island, where he proceeded to toss out paper towels to locals.
Immediately following that storm, Trump soon began a feud with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, tweeting that she and other local officials’ “poor leadership ability” was to blame for any insufficient aid.
Trump has denied the death toll in Puerto Rico, while Republicans have urged him to stop talking publicly about it.
The Trump’s are now in Georgia touring more hurricane ravaged areas.