Trump, Pence to visit flood-ravaged Louisiana capital Friday

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and running mate Mike Pence will visit flood-damaged areas of Baton Rouge, La. Friday.

Record flooding across Louisiana has killed at least 13 people. Over 85,000 people have registered for federal disaster assistance, more than 30,000 have been rescued, and an estimated 40,000 homes have been damaged.

Trump addressed the flooding at a rally in Charlotte, N.C. Thursday night, calling Louisiana "a state that is very, very special to me."

"Though words cannot express the sadness one feels at times like this," Trump said, "I hope everyone in Louisiana knows that our country is praying for them, and standing with them to help them in these difficult hours."

However, a spokesman for Louisiana's governor said his office had not been contacted by the Trump campaign.

Richard Carbo, spokesman for Gov. John Bel Edwards, told the Associated Press Trump was welcome to Louisiana, "but not for a photo-op." Instead, Carbo proposed Trump "consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm."

Earlier Thursday, the Baton Rouge Advocate called on President Barack Obama to cut short his Martha's Vineyard vacation and visit the affected area.

"The optics of Obama golfing while Louisiana residents languished in flood waters was striking," an editorial said. "It evoked the precedent of the passive federal response to [Hurricane Katrina] in 2005, a chapter of history no one should ever repeat."

In response, a senior White House official cited Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, a Republican with a history of criticizing the Obama administration.

"FEMA has been on the ground, and has really done a good job thus far through this disaster," Nungesser told National Public Radio. "There's been a huge change since Katrina in the response, in wanting to get people on the ground."

Fox News' Carl Cameron and Kevin Corke and the Associated Press contributed to this report.