The president and first lady are traveling to Maui Monday to visit the region that's been ravaged by wildfire. Scripps News congressional correspondent Stephanie Liebergen explains why it's important for presidents to take the time to visit after a tragedy.
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00:00 From wildfires and hurricanes to
00:01 mass shootings and terrorist attacks,
00:03 Americans have come to expect a
00:05 presidential visit when disaster
00:06 strikes and look back through.
00:08 History shows it's a tradition
00:09 that's been building for decades.
00:11 The president and the First Lady will
00:13 be traveling to Hawaii on Monday.
00:15 The purpose of a presidential
00:17 visit is typically two sided.
00:18 Victims of a disaster are looking
00:20 for comfort and empathy,
00:22 but they also want to know what
00:24 the government is doing to help.
00:26 Whether it's, you know,
00:27 a flood or an earthquake or
00:29 these terrible fires that happened in Hawaii.
00:31 It always involves the government.
00:33 It always involves federal aid
00:35 because very often the states
00:37 can't handle it themselves.
00:38 The timing of a visit can make a big
00:41 difference. You can't wait too long.
00:43 It looks like you don't care.
00:45 You're not paying attention,
00:46 but if you get in there right away,
00:49 you're going to disrupt things.
00:51 President speaking at the site of
00:53 tragedy goes all the way back to
00:55 President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg
00:57 address, but as society and technology
00:59 changed, so did the expectations.
01:01 Communication became easier.
01:02 Travel became faster and television
01:03 put these moments on screen.
01:05 I think Lyndon Johnson is one of
01:07 the first presidents to go to a
01:10 disaster area after a hurricane so
01:12 that we now expect our presidents
01:14 to do that. Presidential visits
01:15 can be turning points and an
01:18 administration take President Bill
01:19 Clinton after the Oklahoma City bombing
01:21 or President George W Bush at Ground Zero.
01:24 Disaster gives political leaders a
01:26 chance to put partisanship aside.
01:27 When Superstorm Sandy ravages the East Coast,
01:30 particularly the New Jersey area.
01:32 What was really good for Obama and for
01:35 Chris Christie, the Republican governor
01:37 of New Jersey, was that the two came
01:40 together, but a misstep can haunt a
01:43 presidency long after the administration
01:45 is over. Probably better not to go at
01:48 all than to make a halfway measure,
01:51 which is what George W Bush did in
01:54 flying over in Air Force One.
01:57 Flying over the ravages of Katrina
01:59 and that haunted him for the rest
02:02 of his presidency. The impact
02:03 of a presidential visit extends
02:05 internationally as well.
02:07 It can be good for US president or
02:09 even former president to visit
02:11 another country when tragedy strikes
02:13 there in order to demonstrate US
02:15 leadership among the free world.
02:17 Stephanie Lieberman,
02:18 Scripps News, Washington.