Former Canadian PM says she’s ‘rooting for a direct hit’ of Hurricane Dorian on Mar-a-Lago

Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell caused controversy on Thursday after she said that she wished Hurricane Dorian would make a ‘direct hit’ on President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

The storm, described by Trump as potentially an ‘absolute monster’, could hit Florida as a category 5 hurricane with winds over 156mph on Labor Day.

The predicted path of Hurricane Dorian shifted slightly south on Thursday, but the National Hurricane Center said the storm remains on course to be ‘extremely dangerous’ if it makes landfall on the eastern coast of Florida early next week.

Campbell, who served fewer than five months as Canada’s prime minister following the resignation of Brian Mulroney in 1993, said: ‘I’m rooting for a direct hit on Mar a Lago!’

Her comments caused outrage as many Twitter users accused her of wishing ‘death and destruction’ on people in Florida. 

Donald Trump frequently visits Mar-a-Lago and the resort could be in the hurricane’s path. 

One commentator wrote: ‘One of the most accurate storm predictions, the European Model expects a track that would strike a full frontal blow on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.’ 

The former Prime Minister responded to this comment by saying: ‘I know Palm Beach well and am sorry if it gets a big hit. I wish I could believe that it would shake up Trump’s climate change denial! Only today his admin has removed regulations to limit methane- a worse greenhouse gas than CO2!’ 

President Donald Trump frequently visits Mar-a-Lago and the resort could be in the hurricane’s path

Despite the criticism, Campbell doubled down on her tweet, pointing out the president’s record on climate change.

She told critics to ‘get a grip’.

One pointed out how people living and working in Mar-a-Lago would be affected, to which Campbell replied:  ‘As there are in Puerto Rico- sorry you don’t get snark- but Trump’s indifference to suffering is intolerable!

‘We’d also help if he tackled climate change which is making hurricanes more destructive! Instead, he will remove limits on methane! Get a grip!’

Hurricane Dorian is on track to hit Florida as a Category 4 on Labor Day, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday evening

The predicted path of Hurricane Dorian shifted slightly south on Thursday, but the NHC said the storm remains on course to be an ‘extremely dangerous’ Category 4 if it makes landfall on the eastern coast of Florida early next week

A supervised work crew of female jail prisoners fills sandbags for distribution to local residents in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian

A man cuts a sheet of plywood at a Home Depot in West Miami on August 29, 2019, ahead of Hurricane Dorian’s landfall

On Thursday evening, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warned: ‘With Dorian forecast to pass over extremely warm water of the Gulf Stream, where cooled, up-welled water is rapidly replaced by more warm water, you have to be concerned that a category 5 is on the table before reaching the US coast.’ 

The predicted path of Hurricane Dorian shifted slightly south on Thursday, but the National Hurricane Center said the storm remains on course to be ‘extremely dangerous’ if it makes landfall on the eastern coast of Florida early next week. 

‘There is an increasing likelihood of life-threatening storm surge along portions of the Florida east coast late this weekend or early next week, although it is too soon to determine where the highest storm surge will occur,’ the NHC said. 

‘Residents should have their hurricane plan in place, know if they are in a hurricane evacuation zone, and listen to advice given by local emergency officials.’ 

Residents across Florida have been rushing to supermarkets to collect food and supplies as several stores reported rapidly dwindling supplies.  

Home Depot has sent more than 160 truckloads of products to stores in the state so far, a company spokesperson said.  

One Walmart Supercenter in Orlando ran out of plain water on Thursday and now only has flavored waters and sports drinks available. The store’s canned food shelves are also thinning out fast.