President Donald Trump tours Tyndall Air Force Base and views damage from Hurricane Michael Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) – President Donald Trump promised a swift infusion of federal aid to the Florida Panhandle seven months after devastating Hurricane Michael as he rallied supporters Wednesday for his re-election.
Trump addressed a crowd of thousands at an outdoor amphitheater, looking to rally loyalists in the reliably Republican corner of the swing state as he kicks his 2020 efforts into high gear. Federal emergency funds to the area hit by the Category 5 hurricane and elsewhere have been caught up in a Washington standoff over Trump’s opposition to more hurricane aid for Puerto Rico.
“You’re getting your money one way or another,” Trump promised supporters in Panama City Beach, holding up a chart showing federal emergency aid to Florida, Texas and the island territory, “And we’re not going to let anybody hold it up.”
Trump took a victory lap after last week’s jobs report showing the nation’s unemployment at a generational low, crediting his cuts to taxes and regulations.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who accompanied the president to Florida on Air Force One, said the 2020 election was a referendum on whether to allow Democrats to undo Trump policies like tax reform.