Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Donald Trump Just Managed to Make His Visit With Hurricane Florence Victims About Himself, Because of Course He Did

Donald Trump Just Managed to Make His Visit With Hurricane Florence Victims About Himself, Because of Course He Did
US President Donald Trump speaks at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina on September 19, 2018. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

Because it's always about him.

While seated with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Federal Emergency Management Agency head Brock Long, President Donald Trump received briefings from local, state and federal disaster recovery officials in a hangar at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina.

The group convened to discuss the devastation caused by Hurricane Florence. 37 people died as a result of the storm, 27 of those from North Carolina.


An official from Duke Energy spoke about their efforts to restore utility service to their customers. When she finished, Trump asked her one question that caused a few chuckles among those in attendance, but outrage from others.

In front of news cameras filming the status briefing, Trump asked:

"How is Lake Norman doing? I love that area. I can’t tell you why, but I love that area."

Watch the video here.

The worst of the storm tore across the coastline of North and South Carolina on Thursday into Friday. Hurricane Florence made it to the Charlotte, North Carolina, area over the weekend as a tropical depression with wind speeds around 35 mph.

While Duke Energy reported about 12,300 homes without power in the Charlotte area on Monday morning, that did not compare to the 630,000 homes they reported along the coast. Lake Norman sits north of Charlotte. While low lying areas flooded due to heavy rains, the most devastating impact of the storm fell miles away along the coastline.

So why ask an energy official about a much less devastated area instead of asking about restoring power to those most affected?

President Trump owns a golf course on the shores of Lake Norman. A power outage would cost the Trump Organization in lost revenue.

This is not the first time the President drew criticism for thinking of himself in times of crisis. After the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump brought up the winery he owns there.

When reporters asked about the volatile situation in Charlottesville—that resulted in the murder of Heather Heyer and injuries to 19 others when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter protesters—Trump stated:

"I own a house in Charlottesville. Does anyone know I own a house in Charlottesville? Oh boy, it's gonna be...it's in Charlottesville."
"It is the winery. I mean, I know a lot about Charlottesville. Charlottesville is a great place that's been very badly hurt over the last couple of days."
"I own actually one of the largest wineries in the United States, it's in Charlottesville."

At the time, people accused the President of being more concerned about his winery than Heather Heyer's murder or the racism displayed in Charlottesville. Now, people accused Trump of showing more concern for one of his golf courses than the people of North Carolina.

But it could be something else entirely.

When speaking of most events, the President displays a definite pattern of inserting himself into the situations however he can. When he spoke of the death of Aretha Franklin, Trump made claims of knowing her well and stating she worked for him many times.

His comments then angered people as well. All records indicated they met in passing 2 or 3 times and Franklin never worked directly for Trump.

When he spoke last month of the 2020 Republican Convention taking place in Charlotte, he bragged about his golf course instead of congratulating the city as he intended. He said:

"I actually have investments in Charlotte. They’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s a conflict of interest.’ Fake news, they’ll say this is a conflict of interest."
"You know where my club is, right? Trump National. It’s a very big success on Lake Norman. Beautiful. Largest man-made lake in the world by far, right?"

At the time, Trump took heat for his boast about Lake Norman which is not even in the top 10 largest manmade lakes in the United States. It is 25 times smaller than Lake Mead, Nevada. The largest manmade lakes in the world in both volume and surface area are in Africa.

News of today's remarks by Trump angered people again online.

Trump's schedule indicated he would return to the White House Wednesday evening.

More from People/donald-trump

Donald Trump
Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Demands 'Boss Of AT&T' Fix Equipment After Failed Conference Call In Bizarre Meltdown

When most of us have technical difficulties, we contact tech support or customer service.

But if you're President of the United States, just ranting on social media—then having your White House Press Secretary post a screenshot of your post on a social media platform people actually use—is apparently the answer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Lauren Boebert speaking to Alex Stein
Prime Time with Alex Stein/Blaze Media

Lauren Boebert Casts Doubt On Moon Landing During Wild Interview With Conspiracy Theorist

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert was criticized after she seemingly agreed with the conspiracy theory that the moon landing was faked in a wide-ranging interview with conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Stein.

The segment began with the duo casting doubt on nuclear weapons—Boebert even joked about needing "tin foil"—and moved into weirder territory when Stein praised Boebert for "vibing" with him on the topic of the moon landing. Conspiracy theorists have long alleged the moon landing was fabricated by NASA in what they claim was an elaborate hoax.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rosie O'Donnell; Oprah Winfrey
Simon Ackerman/Getty Images; Ernesto Ruscio/GC Images

Rosie O'Donnell Calls Out Oprah For Attending Jeff Bezos' Wedding In Scathing Poem

Among the various celebrity hangers-on who attended Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's Venice wedding, the one that seemed to generate the most controversy was Oprah Winfrey.

After all, a woman known for her progressive politics whose entire ethos is about teaching people how to be their best selves, attending the wedding of man who directly funded a fascist regime dismantling our country before our eyes doesn't exactly add up.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa Murkowski
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Lisa Murkowski Slammed After Criticizing Massive Budget Bill She Just Voted For

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski was slammed after she claimed that President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill is "not there yet" despite casting the deciding vote to narrowly pass it before sending it back to the House.

In a marathon voting session, the Senate narrowly passed the legislation in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman listening to her boyfriend play guitar
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Things People Initially Found Attractive About Their Partner That Now Annoy Them

Being in a relationship can be wonderful, but it's not without its ups and downs.

In order for it to work, we have to allow it to grow and change over time rather than being locked forever into what it was when we first started dating our person.

Keep ReadingShow less