Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Thursday that New Orleans will be happy to welcome Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, but is concerned that Obama plans to politicize the tragedy.
"This is time to honor those who lost their lives and homes," Jindal, a GOP candidate for the presidency, told
Fox News' "America's Newsroom" program. "It is a time to also recognize that we're trying to build a future going forward."
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Instead, Obama plans to use the opportunity to discuss the need for climate control legislation at his visit on Thursday,
reports USA Today, and Jindal told Fox News that he disagrees with the president's "radical liberal environmental policies that will cost us jobs."
"Now is not the time to focus on what divides us," said Jindal. "Now is the time to focus what unites us. The left likes to politicize these tragedies to hijack a moment for their agenda."
Instead, Jindal said he hopes Obama will "unite us, remember lives that were lost, and recognize and commend those building a broader future. Leave the radical politics, leave that agenda back in D.C."
Jindal said that both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita "knocked us to our knees," but Americans joined to help Louisiana and New Orleans rebuild "stronger than ever before."
The governor also spoke of his bid for the presidency, saying his campaign, while toward the bottom of the polls, is seeing numbers moving and is doing very well in early voting states, "especially Iowa."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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