President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, center, and Gov Rick Scott- R Fla., right, participate in a briefing on the Hurricane Irma relief efforts on Sept. 14 in Ft. Myers, Fla., at Southwest Florida International airport. | Evan Vucci/AP Trump pushes Rick Scott to run for Senate during Irma recovery visit

President Donald Trump traveled to southwest Florida with a message for the people of Fort Myers, who are recovering from Hurricane Irma: Rick Scott for Senate.

Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Vice President Mike Pence flew to Florida on Thursday morning to visit Fort Myers and Naples, two Gulf Coast cities that Irma tore through earlier this week.


Trump acknowledged the devastation in brief remarks he delivered in Fort Myers ahead of a briefing from state and local officials.

“We’re gonna see some more of it now, unfortunately,” he lamented.

“I have to say that your governor — where is our governor here? Rick Scott,” Trump said, pausing for applause of the Republican governor. “The job he’s done is incredible, and I guess I’ve been very lucky because, you know, you have a great governor in Texas; you have a great governor in Florida. The job that Rick has done is being talked about all over.”

Trump offered more praise of Scott, who he has continued to nudge to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in 2018, taking advantage of Thursday’s backdrop of a recovering city.

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“I just, again, I have to say that — what do I know? But I hope this man right here, Rick Scott, runs for the Senate,” Trump said.

Scott has publicly said he is weighing a Senate run, but he has insisted that he feels little pressure to make an early decision. And Trump is unsure whether the governor ultimately will run.

“I don’t know what he’s gonna do, but I know that at a certain point it ends for you, and we can’t let it end,” Trump said. “So I hope he runs for Senate. Who knows what he’s gonna do?”

Thursday marks the second time the president has publicly asked Scott to run. In June, during an announcement about Cuba regulations in Miami, Trump urged the governor to challenge Nelson.

The president helicoptered to Naples later Thursday, flying low enough to see some of the flood damage throughout the region. Irma dropped more than a foot of rain in parts of South Florida over the weekend, and Naples was hit with the storm’s strongest winds — which registered at up to 142 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

He spoke to homeowners and handed out handshakes and hoagies to community members.

“They’re too small,” the president remarked as he yanked off his thin plastic gloves and resumed shaking hands.

He asked a buff man if he was “a workout guy” and encouraged him to “keep it up.” And he questioned whether one woman who was holding a small dog was a biker, noting that “the bikers love us.”

The president also shook the hand of a man who asked where former President Barack Obama was the last time the area was hit with a hurricane. “On the golf course!” the man answered.

Trump asked if the man had voted for him. “Best vote of your life?” he wondered. He then turned to the press. “Don’t report that,” he said, smiling. “That’s good news.”

The president ended his trip the same way it began: with a tweet.

“Just left Florida for D.C.,” Trump announced. “The people and spirit in THAT GREAT STATE is unbelievable. Damage horrific but will be better than ever!”

Marc Caputo and Kevin Robillard contributed to this report.