President Barack Obama paid a two-day visit to Florida – his 39th since his first election – to take part in the annual briefing before the beginning of the hurricane season, June 1st –which experts have predicted will be slow.
The visit started on Wednesday afternoon, with two fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee in Miami, and finished on Thursday after a work session at the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
CBS News reporter Mark Knoller, who keeps statistics of the presidents’ trips, told the Tampa Bay Times, that this was Obama’s 16th visit to Miami, which makes it his third most frequented city, after New York and Ohio.
At the NHC, the president received briefings from NHC Director Rick Knabb, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, and NOAA Administrator Kathy Sullivan, according to a post in the official Facebook page of the said institution.
“After hearing about the forecast process, the President reviewed, signed, and transmitted the Tropical Cyclone Discussion upgrading Tropical Depression One-E to Tropical Storm Andres,” the NHC post reads.
He also used the occasion to raise awareness on climate change using his new Twitter account to answer questions from the public, including some not related to environmental protection.
Before leaving Miami, the president visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity (La Ermita de la Caridad del Cobre), Cuba’s national Roman Catholic patron saint.
National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said the president visited the shrine to pay his respects and honor the “sacrifices that Cuban-Americans have made in their pursuit of liberty and opportunity, as well as their extraordinary contributions to our country.”
