President Trump asks about Lake Norman while surveying NC’s Florence devastation

Sept. 19--President Donald Trump asked about Lake Norman during a Wednesday visit to survey North Carolina's Hurricane Florence flood damage.

He wanted to know how the Duke Energy-managed lake fared during the hurricane, asking Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good: "And how is Lake Norman, that area? How is that doing?" according to a briefing transcript posted on the White House website.

Trump was told the lake was good but got a lot of rain, according to the briefing.

"I love that area," Trump was quoted as saying. "I can't tell you why, but I love that area."

Lake Norman is home to Trump National Golf Club, an 18-hole golf course with "world class country club amenities," according to its website.

The president asked about the lake during a visit that included touring a neighborhood in New Bern, which was heavily flooded by the Neuse River, reported the News & Observer.

Hurricane Florence had caused 26 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon in North Carolina, and more than 1,000 roads remained closed Wednesday due to flooding, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Trump mentioned Lake Norman last month, when he told an audience at Central Piedmont Community College that his golf course was an investment that connected him to the Charlotte region, according to an Aug. 31 article in The Charlotte Observer.

He called it the "largest man-made lake in the world, by far," the Observer reported.

The lake is a Duke Energy reservoir that covers 32,510 acres and has 520 miles of shoreline, according to the article.

However, it's not the the world's largest. WorldAtlas.com says Lake Kariba in Africa is considered to be the world's largest man-made lake.

Mark Price: 704-358-5245, @markprice_obs

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