Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida late Wednesday, bringing devastating and widespread damage. In the wake of the disaster, President Donald Trump delivered a message of hope to hurting Floridians.
As a Floridian himself, Trump delivers a message of support for those left dealing with the storm’s aftermath.
In a video, President Trump told the people of Florida, “Melania and I are praying for you as you face the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.” Trump shared that he was deeply saddened by the reported devastation caused by the storm.
Hurricane Milton arrived just over two weeks after category four Hurricane Helene brought widespread damage to the state, leaving at least 230 people dead in Southern states and causing debris to become an added danger for Hurricane Milton.
The Associated Press reported that the storm hit Siesta Key as a category three storm that brought along 150 tornadoes, up to 18 inches of rain, and has left more than 3 million people without power. USA Today shared that the current death toll has risen to eight.
At a briefing reported by USA Today, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst case scenario,” and added that the dangerous storm surge that was predicted “has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene.”
In his video, Trump told Floridians, “To those who’ve lost so much, know that you are not alone. We’ve seen you stand tall against storms before, and you will stand tall now.”
He added, “ Hopefully, on January 20th, you’re going to have somebody that’s really going to help you and help you like never before.”
Trump made a subtle reference to the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous response to help victims of Hurricane Helene, especially in the Southern states. At the time, he wrote on Truth Social, “THE WORST RESPONSE TO A STORM OR HURRICANE DISASTER IN U.S. HISTORY — WITH ANOTHER ONE COMING.”
He added, “OUR COUNTRY CANNOT WITHSTAND FOUR MORE YEARS OF THESE INCOMPETENT FOOLS. THE WHOLE WORLD IS LAUGHING AT US!!!“
Trump concluded, “We will rebuild. We will recover, and we will come back stronger, bigger, better than ever before.” He stated, “Please keep your faith, hold strong, and look out for one another because the sun will shine again over the beautiful Florida that we love so much.”
