Donald Trump appeared relieved on Wednesday after the latest forecast showed Hurricane Dorian would not directly hit the state of Florida.
“We certainly got lucky in Florida,” Trump said. “Now if we can get lucky in Georgia, and if you look at South Carolina, and North Carolina.”
He pointed to an older hurricane forecast predicting a direct hit on the state, which has changed. The storm has decreased from a category 5 storm to a Category 2 and appears to be turning right away from Florida and heading up the East Coast.
“It looks like Florida is going to be in fantastic shape compared to what we thought,” Trump said, admitting that the Government was preparing for a hit as strong as Hurricane Andrew. “We’re very happy about, so far, Florida.”
Trump warned that Georgia and North and South Carolina were facing increased storm activity, but acknowledged the storm could still turn further right away from the East Coast.
“We’ll see what happens, but it’s a very erratic, very slow, very powerful hurricane,” Trump said. “It’s built up tremendous water and water supply like few have seen.”
The president acknowledged the loss of life and property in the Bahamas, where the storm hit with full Category 5 force.
“We’re helping the Bahamas at the request of the Bahamas,” he said.