Trump tours flood damage in Louisiana

Donald Trump on Friday traveled to Louisiana to tour the damage from floods that displaced thousands around Baton Rouge.

The GOP presidential nominee and his running mate, Mike Pence, rode in a motorcade through hard-hit areas of East Baton Rouge Parish and spoke individually with relief volunteers and victims at damaged buildings, The Associated Press reported.

{mosads}The business mogul has largely eschewed traditional campaign strategies like surveying a disaster area. But the visit came shortly after a major shake-up among the leadership of Trump’s team, which included naming a new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway.

The Louisiana visit, along with a rare admission at a Thursday evening speech that he regrets some of the controversial comments he has made, seems to indicate a slight shift in strategy.

Trump’s visit to Louisiana included visiting volunteers at a church and observing people repair or gut their homes.

He also took the opportunity to criticize President Obama for not visiting the flood area.

“The president says he doesn’t want to come, he is trying to get out of a golf game,” he said before meeting with volunteers, according to ABC News.

John Bel Edwards, Louisiana’s Democratic governor, criticized the candidate’s visit Thursday, saying in a statement that he should volunteer or donate to relief efforts instead of coming for a “photo-op.”

Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic rival, chose to show her support for Louisiana by speaking with Edwards on the phone Friday morning.

“My heart breaks for Louisiana, and right now, the relief effort can’t afford any distractions,” she wrote on Facebook. “The very best way this team can help is to make sure Louisianans have the resources they need.”

Obama has faced criticism for not visiting, including from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Trump supporter, and Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate.

The White House has said that Obama is being briefed often on the situation. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has also visited Louisiana since the flooding.

The Sierra Club, which has said climate change contributed to the flooding, slammed Trump for his visit and for his rejection of mainstream climate science. The organization has endorsed Clinton for president.

“Let’s be clear: Donald Trump is taking his reckless and dangerous denial of climate science to the heart of a crisis fueled in part by climate change,” Khalid Pitts, the group’s political director, said in a statement. “That’s like a tobacco lobbyist offering health tips at a cancer ward.”