Trump comforts Carolinas in wake of savage Florence

NEW BERN, N.C. -- Eager to show heart in a moment of crisis, President Donald Trump handed out hot dogs, hugs and comforting words in the Carolinas on Wednesday as he surveyed the wreckage left by Hurricane Florence.

With residents still recovering from torrential rains, Trump sought to strike a balance between comforter and cheerleader, mindful he has been criticized in the past for not showing sufficient empathy in the face of tragedy.

During a packed day, he visited both North and South Carolina, distributed meals at a church, walked amid piles of sodden furniture in damaged neighborhoods, offered hugs and handshakes to residents and discussed the response efforts with local and state officials.

"America grieves with you and our hearts break for you. God bless you," he said during a briefing at a marine base in Havelock, North Carolina. "We will never forget your loss. We will never leave your side. We're with you all the way."

The emotional words and comprehensive itinerary stood in contrast with Trump's trip to Puerto Rico last year after Hurricane Maria, when he drew criticism for tossing rolls of paper towels into the crowd. Or his initial visit to Houston after Hurricane Harvey, when he did not meet with any storm victims.

There were still flashes of Trump's outsized persona -- he asked about the status of Lake Norman, where he owns a golf club, telling officials, "I can't tell you why, but I love that area."

He also joked with a family who had a large yacht they didn't own wash up against their house. "At least you got a nice boat out of the deal," he told them. "What's the law? Maybe it becomes theirs."

He was also caught on camera telling a person to whom he had just handed food to "have a good time."

Still, the whirlwind tour through the Carolinas showed Trump reaching out to connect with those reeling from a storm blamed for at least 37 deaths in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia since coming ashore Friday. North and South Carolina both backed Trump in the 2016 election, and the president largely saw people who were happy to greet him. One man told the president he'd named his dog after Trump.

After a briefing on the recovery effort, Trump helped hand out hot dogs and chips at a Baptist church in New Bern, a riverfront city experiencing severe flooding. The president leaned over and checked in with people as they drove through to pick up food.

"How's the house?" he asked one person. "You take care of yourself," he said.

Trump also praised the volunteers, at one point hugging a young helper and telling his parents, "You did a good job."

Trump's motorcade then drove through a storm-damaged neighborhood where waterlogged sofa cushions, mattresses and downed trees were piled up along streets and boats lay on their sides after washing up along a grassy shore.

"How's it doing?" the president asked after one woman pointed at a house. He chatted and shook people's hands as he walked along a street strewn with trash, branches and wet furniture. Some people applauded as he went by.

Trump later traveled to Conway, South Carolina, where more flooding is expected still.

"Is everybody OK?" he asked those gathered, assuring them it was "going to be OK."

"Lot of money coming from Washington," he promised.

At Horry County's emergency operations center, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said the storm had likely been the worst disaster in the state's history, but warned it wasn't over yet.

"The rain and the water you see out there now is just the beginning," he said. "The worst is yet to come."

Trump, too, warned that more water was on the way, but assured those gathered that both he and Washington are "with you."

"Now it looks nice, but it's really the calm before the storm," he said.