Trump tweets that he’s monitoring Hurricane Irma: ‘No rest for the weary!’

President Trump tweeted that he was “closely” watching Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes, as it set a wild, wind-churned course toward Puerto Rico, with the U.S. mainland in its sights, likely over the weekend.

The monster hurricane made landfall in the Caribbean, where it was blamed for at least four deaths.

The president tweeted Wednesday that his “team” was ready in Florida, adding: “No rest for the weary!”

As he did while Hurricane Harvey pounded Texas late last month, Trump unleashed tweets about the storm’s strength. “Hurricane looks like the largest ever recorded in the Atlantic!” he wrote Wednesday morning on Twitter.

Later, heading into a meeting with congressional leaders, he described the storm as “something that could be not good — believe me, not good.”

Amid an overnight assault of battering waves and 185-mph winds, two deaths were reported in French island territories, a third in Anguilla, a British territory, and a fourth in Barbuda, part of a tiny independent nation.

Trump on Wednesday declared states of emergency in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Florida began activating its National Guard, with 7,000 members told to report for duty Friday.

In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott implored constituents to obey calls to flee the storm’s path when the time came.

“I cannot stress this enough — do not ignore evacuation orders,” Scott said at a news briefing as the storm began lashing Puerto Rico with rain, still on track for the U.S. mainland. “If you’re told to evacuate, don’t wait — get out quickly.”

Read more