David Key boats away from his flooded home after reviewing the damage in Prairieville, La., Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016. Key, an insurance adjuster, fled his home as the flood water was rising with his wife and three children and returned today to assess the damage. AP Photo
WASHINGTON鈥擣resh from a two-week vacation, President Barack Obama visits flood-hit Louisiana on Tuesday, hoping to offer support to devastated communities and silence his critics.
Obama has been lampooned for not cutting short his Martha鈥檚 Vineyard holiday to visit the Gulf Coast state, where heavy rains have submerged thousands of homes.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited flood-struck communities last week and goaded the golf-loving president about his absence.
鈥淗onestly, Obama ought to get off the golf course and get down there,鈥� Trump said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Monday defended the White House鈥檚 response as 鈥渆ffective鈥� and bristled when asked if Obama鈥檚 visit was prompted by Trump: 鈥淥f course not,鈥� he said.
鈥淲hat the president鈥檚 been focused on is the response on the ground and the people whose lives in Louisiana have been turned upside-down by this terrible flooding event,鈥� Earnest added.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that up to 31 inches (79 centimeters) of rain fell on some parts of the low-laying state 鈥� where the highest point is just 535 feet (165 meters) above sea level.
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Some 13 people have died and 86,000 have registered for US government emergency assistance as a result of the flooding.
The disaster brought back painful memories of Hurricane Katrina, which 11 years ago inundated nearby New Orleans.
Then, the federal government was pilloried for its slow response.
Images of president George W. Bush looking out the window of Air Force One as he flew over New Orleans became emblematic of perceived government detachment from the crisis.
鈥楨ffective鈥� response
For this month鈥檚 floods, the National Guard has been deployed and the federal government has worked hard to show it is doing everything possible to speed the recovery.
Obama has declared a major disaster in 20 of Louisiana鈥檚 64 parishes 鈥� the state鈥檚 equivalent of counties 鈥� streamlining federal assistance.
鈥淭he response that you鈥檝e seen from the federal government has been effective,鈥� said Earnest.
But a few months out from November鈥檚 election, politicians鈥� visits have inevitably become another talking point on the campaign trail.
Prior to Trump鈥檚 visit, Louisiana鈥檚 Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards said he welcomed him to the state, 鈥渂ut not for a photo-op.鈥�
鈥淲e hope he鈥檒l consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the (Louisiana) Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm,鈥� Edwards said.
The governor has also provided cover for Obama, saying the president鈥檚 trip should wait until he does not draw resources away from the flood response.
Any presidential visit is a major security and logistical event.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has said she will visit later, in an implicit criticism of Trump.
鈥淚 am committed to visiting communities affected by these floods, at a time when the presence of a political campaign will not disrupt the response,鈥� she said, while calling for donations to the Red Cross.
Republicans usually win the state of Louisiana handily in presidential elections.
The last Democratic presidential nominee to win there was Clinton鈥檚 husband, former president Bill Clinton, in his 1996 rout of Bob Dole.
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