U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media about Hurricane Irma next to first lady Melania Trump on the South Lawn the White House upon their return to Washington, U.S., from Camp David, September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called Hurricane Irma “a big monster” and said the storm would cost a lot of money but that the federal government was focused on saving lives.

“The bad news is that this is some big monster,” Trump said on arriving at the White House after a weekend at the Camp David retreat in Maryland. He praised federal agencies’ handling of the storm and said: “We’re going to Florida very soon.”