Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) thinks the best way for President Barack Obama to address the concerns of Americans troubled by Tuesday’s deadly terrorist attacks in Brussels is to head to the Sunshine State.
“Not only do I believe that President Obama should immediately return to America, I am inviting him today to come to Florida and address the concerns of American tourists considering travel to Europe,” Scott said in a statement released Thursday.
The Florida governor faulted the President for “gallivanting across the communist country of Cuba” and “dancing the tango in Argentina” instead of immediately returning to the U.S. to demonstrate concern over the attacks.
Obama visited Cuba and Argentina this week as part of a historic trip to rehabilitate U.S. relations with Latin America. He met with Cuban president Raúl Castro on Tuesday, accompanying him to a baseball game, and with Argentinian president Mauricio Macri on Wednesday. The President and First Lady Michelle Obama danced the tango at a state dinner Wednesday night, drawing criticism from pundits who called it “a tremendous mistake” in terms of optics.
While many other Republicans, including presidential candidates Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), have chastised Obama for remaining in Latin America after the Brussels attacks, Scott was alone in asking him to visit his own state.
In his statement, Scott explained that “as the tourism capital of America,” Florida would be “the perfect place” to give an address alleviating the fears of Americans who plan to travel to Europe.
“It is time for him to return home and lay out for the American people how he will combat terrorism in a way that will not only keep Americans safe at home, but also as they travel abroad,” Scott said.
Obama has twice addressed the attacks during his travels this week, saying the U.S. will do “whatever is necessary” to support Belgium and assist them in tracking down the bombing suspects.
