President Donald Trump arrived in Nashville shortly after 11 a.m. Friday to tour the devastating damage from a series of tornadoes earlier this week.
According CBS affiliate NewsChannel 5, Trump landed at Berry Field at Nashville International Airport Friday morning, then boarded the Marine One, where he was expected to fly to Putnam County, where the bulk of the damage has occurred. Later, the president was scheduled to visit Atlanta to address the growing threat of coronavirus.
Though it appeared he had postponed the Atlanta trip to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, by late Friday morning, his team told reporters he was still likely to come.
Trump is touring several communities in Putnam County, where a tornado split through 2-mile-long path, killing 18 people, including five children under 13. Several others were injured, in some cases critically.
Statewide, the death toll stood at 24 from a pair of storms.
Trump was met upon his arrival by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and other top officials.
Such trips have become familiar for the president, who has visited numerous scenes of disaster and tragedy after hurricanes, mass shootings and wildfires during the past three years.
Trump said the Tennessee tornadoes were “horrible” and “vicious.”
“Our hearts are full of sorrow for the lives that were lost,” he told a meeting of county officials from across the U.S. earlier this week. “Those tornadoes -- I've seen many of them during a three-year period, and I've gotten to see the results. And they are vicious if you're in their path."
So far, 24 people have died due to the twisters that hit the Nashville area Monday night and early Tuesday morning. The tornadoes primary path of destruction and loss of lives was in Putnam, Davidson and Wilson counties.
The president approved federal aid and disaster relief to help with the clean-up efforts, according to the news station. Federal aid is available in Putnam, Davidson and Wilson counties.
State Rep. Ryan Williams (R – Cookeville) said he didn't waste any time getting help to Putnam County, which had the greatest number of deaths and most far-reaching damage.
“God was not in this tornado but he has been in our response. We are excited to see that come to fruition in the next days, weeks, and months as we get back to what it is we do here in Putnam County,” Williams said.
The tornadoes that struck the Nashville area earlier this week shredded more than 140 buildings. The storms moved so quickly that many people in their path could not flee to safer areas.
The governor declared an emergency and sent the National Guard to help with search-and-rescue efforts. State emergency officials, who initially reported at least 25 dead, revised the toll to 24 fatalities on Tuesday evening after determining one death counted earlier was not storm-related.
Trump has visited cities that have suffered mass shootings, including El Paso, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh. He also reviewed hurricane damage in Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and the Carolinas.
He has faced criticism for appearing to lack empathy in the wake of disasters, such as when he tossed paper towels to a crowd of people seeking relief after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. He later called the U.S. emergency response “an incredible, unsung success” despite the report of 3,000 deaths on the island.
So far the coronavirus has caused 14 deaths in the United States, with all but one victim in Washington state, while the number of infections swelled to over 200, scattered across 18 states.
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