Recently, the eastern part of our great state of Louisiana was devastated by rainfall that led to flooding. According to CNN, the rainfall dumped up to 6,900,000,000 (or 6.9 trillion) gallons of water. 60,000 homes were damaged. 13 people were killed. 20,000 people were rescued. The estimated cost of this flood is at $30 million, and it could grow. Victims need help from volunteers, donations (monetary, and food/hygiene/clothing/basic need items), and help in any way possible.
Neighbors helped each other, and various volunteer groups from all over the state (even out of state) traveled to flooded areas to help the victims. One of these notable volunteers was Donald Trump, along with running mate Mike Pence. After this act of kindness, my Facebook feed was flooded by people criticizing him. Many called the visit "a photo op" or "pandering for votes." Some even posted memes ripping on him for donating PlayDoh. Why criticize someone for helping, regardless of their fame or status level? At least he helped. The flood victims need all the help possible to rebuild.
According to The Creole, Trump donated an 18-wheeler full of supplies, viewed the damage, spent time in the command center, and provided support to people. In this video from ABC, he is obviously unloading other items besides PlayDoh. The first item seen is a box of some sort of baby food. The second item is the PlayDoh. The third thing was a box of different items, including Hot Wheels toy cars, baby food, and socks. People need to understand that the reason for donating toys along with supplies is that some of the flood victims have kids, many of who lost their toys in the damage. A church spokesperson who was there even said in an email that the items were in fact donated by Donald Trump, according to Snopes.
Also According to a Facebook post from the Greenwell Springs Baptist Church, he also made a monetary donation to the church for flood relief. According to The Advocate, the donation was worth $100,000. Governor John Bel Edwards was worried about the visit being a "photo-op," but later thanked him for his help. Mary Landrieu, former Democratic senator from Louisiana, even thanked him for bringing attention to the state.So, it sure looks like the visit definitely wasn't a photo-op. If it was, he wouldn't have gone to that much trouble to actually do something to help out. It's certainly more than what Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama has done, according to RT News,
Green party candidate Jill Stein even made a visit to Louisiana over the weekend, while Hillary partied with Cher, held campaign rallies, celebrated Bill's 70th birthday in Martha's Vineyard, and was on Jimmy Kimmel. Although, Hillary was "closely monitoring" the flooding situation, according to this tweet on her Twitter account. "Closely monitoring" means nothing. President Barack Obama didn't even show up until days later after his Martha's Vineyard vacation, according to USA Today. He faced a lot of criticism for his late appearance. Even though Governor Edwards defended Obama's late visit because a presidential visit would require police and other resources that flood victims needed, the President should've at least cut his golf game short, addressed the flooding, and at least done something from where he was.Even though I am not a Louisiana citizen in the effected areas, I stand with the flood victims because, "we knew he would come."
