Hillary Clinton will visit the flood-hit areas of Louisiana “at a time when the presence of a political campaign will not disrupt the response” according to an announcement made by her campaign.
The response comes after Republican Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence visited Louisiana last week. Trump used the opportunity to visit Louisiana to his advantage after backlash from local newspapers in the state called for President Obama to end his vacation early and visit the state.
Obama is scheduled to visit Louisiana today.
The floods displaced 40,000 people and killed an additional 13 people. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards responded to critics of Obama by stating that it would be better for the president to visit at a later time due to the massive demand for security and logistics that go along with a presidential visit. The resources would have been taken away from the rescue efforts in the state.
Trump’s visit was praised by Edwards. The Governor told CNN’s Dana Bash in a statement that “it helped to shine a spotlight on Louisiana and on the dire situation that we have here.”
The flood is the worst in the United States since Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast four years ago.
