BEAUREGARD, Ala. _ President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Friday took a helicopter tour and were to meet with survivors of the string of tornadoes that raked across this town last weekend, destroying homes and leaving 23 dead.
Trump, who flew on Air Force One into Fort Benning, Ga., before boarding helicopters, was greeted in Alabama by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey and Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., who toured the damage earlier in the week.
The presidential helicopter spent about 25 minutes over the tornado zone, which extended some 70 miles across Alabama and Georgia.
"The people of Alabama, they got hit very hard by the tornadoes," Trump said before he left Washington.
After the aerial tour, Trump got into the presidential motorcade and is expected to meet with survivors and local officials and "thank our brave first responders," the White House said.
He is accompanied by HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and FEMA Deputy Administrator Peter Gaynor, along with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala.
The Trumps were expected to visit the site that was once the home of Sheila Creech and Marshall Lynn Grimes, who died in the twister. Creech came to Beauregard to live with Grimes after her Panama City, Fla., apartment was damaged during Hurricane Michael in October 2018.
Grimes' daughter, Kayla, was hospitalized and her best friend, Taylor Thornton, age 10, died at the home. The two girls had just returned from a camping trip. The family members expected to meet with the president and first lady included Grimes' son, Chris Grimes, and his wife, Denise, his brother David Grimes and his wife, Kristen.
Services were held earlier Friday for Thornton at First Baptist Church in Opelika. "She was loved by everyone that knew her," her obituary read. "Taylor loved her family and was known as 'Sweet Taylor' to everyone she knew."
One of the youngest victims of the storm, she loved to "ride horses, rollerblade, ice skate, and hang out with her best friend."
They also will visit with Susanne and John Polk. Polk was hospitalized a week and a half ago and his doctors kept him longer than originally planned. On Sunday morning, Susanne Polk left the house to visit her husband and minutes later received a message that Lee Road 38 was hit by a tornado.
Susanne Polk is a member of the Beauregard Volunteer Fire Department and aided in the search and rescue efforts.
They also will visit the home of Tamatha "Tammy" and James "Jim" Cardwell. Tammy Cardwell was home during the storm and survived.
As the motorcade sped past Beauregard High School, a crowd was watching, with mobile phones poised.
Donna Stewart, who was accompanying her mother, captured what appeared to be a presidential hand wave from a vehicle.
Before Trump left Washington, D.C., there were already signs of support for the presidential visit: fans with his red signature Make America Great Again hats waited by the road in hopes of spotting the motorcade and at the local high school, residents signed a giant banner of thanks.
"For him to leave Washington, D.C., and come down to little Beauregard says a lot about the president," said Chad Roberts, a former Georgia police officer who used to ride motorcycles with David Dean, 53, one of the 23 people killed when the twister touched down on Sunday.
Trump, whose response to the 2017 hurricane in Puerto Rico was widely panned, drew criticism earlier this week for seemingly playing politics with disaster aid by tweeting that "FEMA has been told directly by me to give the A Plus treatment to the Great State of Alabama and the wonderful people who have been so devastated."
But fans in the red state dismissed concerns that Trump would play favorites.
"He's going to help people, regardless; to him that's irrelevant," said DuWayne "Moose" Bridges Jr., who wore his red MAGA hat and hoped to catch a glimpse of Trump. "Anytime he goes anywhere people are going to try to play politics. But we know even though he's a wealthy, successful businessman, he feels for the common people. He's going to do what's best for all Americans."
Trump is scheduled to be in Alabama for about 2 { hours before leaving for Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he's scheduled to host and speak at a fundraiser for Trump Victory, a joint fundraiser committee authorized by his re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee.
