Maybe this was a trick he picked up in “The Art of the Deal”
A statement sent out by the Donald Trump campaign from Rudy Giuliani defending Trump’s visit to flood-ravaged Louisiana Friday includes a shout out to the former New York mayor’s book.
“It is the defining principle of leadership to show up at the scene of a disaster in order to assess damage first hand. It is true leadership to go to an embattled area to rally the American people and provide aid and assistance to those suffering from the disaster,” Giuliani said. “These are all points that I explain in great detail in my best-selling book, Leadership, and have lectured on all over the world.”
Trump’s stop in Louisiana, where historic flooding has killed 13 people and prompted mass evacuation, was met with some skepticism, including from the state’s own governor, Gov. Bel Edwards (D).
“Donald Trump hasn’t called the governor to inform him of his visit,” a spokesman in the governor’s office said in a statement Thursday evening, ahead of the visit. “We welcome him to LA but not for a photo-op. Instead we hope he’ll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of the storm.”
Critics have bashed President Obama for not cutting his current vacation in Martha’s Vineyard short to travel to the Bayou State, though Edwards said Thursday that he would prefer Obama wait to visit until authorities won’t be pulled away from relief efforts in order to coordinate a presidential visit. The White House announced Friday that the President would be visiting on Tuesday, but that it was keeping the impact his travel has on first responders in mind.
Nevertheless Giuliani bashed Obama.
“Today, Donald Trump acted more Presidential than the President himself, by immediately going to Louisiana while President Obama chose to continue playing golf and Hillary Clinton phoned in her views,” he said.
The full statement is below:
“The Democrat Governor’s criticism of Mr. Trump’s visit to Louisiana is an outrage, and completely inconsistent with their criticism of President Bush’s decision to not go to New Orleans immediately after Hurricane Katrina. It is the defining principle of leadership to show up at the scene of a disaster in order to assess damage first hand. It is true leadership to go to an embattled area to rally the American people and provide aid and assistance to those suffering from the disaster. These are all points that I explain in great detail in my best-selling book, Leadership, and have lectured on all over the world.
During the September 11 attacks, I welcomed the leaders coming to view the devastation. It resulted in overwhelming support for the victims’ families and it gave the people of New York a strong indication that they were not alone. Today, Donald Trump acted more Presidential than the President himself, by immediately going to Louisiana while President Obama chose to continue playing golf and Hillary Clinton phoned in her views.”
