DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. • President Joe Biden saw firsthand the striking devastation in two Kentucky towns rendered unrecognizable by deadly tornadoes as he offered prayers and comfort Wednesday to residents left homeless and their lives uprooted.

In Dawson Springs, Biden walked through piles of debris. Shattered Christmas decorations were tangled up with shards of furniture and strewn clothing. Trees were uprooted among homes reduced to rubble.

Over the sounds of heavy machinery engaged in cleanup just blocks away, the president stopped to speak with storms victims, including a young girl clutching an American flag.

Biden came over to a family sitting before a home without a roof or windows, and also spoke to a group of police officers. He offered hugs to an older couple.

Earlier, in Mayfield, among the dozens of communities pummeled by the storm, the president held hands with Graves County Executive Jesse Perry and a pastor in prayer. A family that had gathered in front of a destroyed home talked with Biden, who told reporters he was “impressed how everybody is working together” on the recovery. On Mayfield’s main street, Biden spoke with two women in a shattered building. They had a sign that said, “God is good. Beaten but not defeated.”

Biden also took an aerial tour of the damage and held a briefing with officials in an airport hangar. “I’m here to listen,” he said.

More than 30 tornadoes tore through Kentucky and seven other states over the weekend, killing at least 88 people.

Thousands of residents have lost their houses or are without power.

Biden pledged that federal aid would continue to flow and described the tornado damage as some of the worst he had ever seen. This kind of tragedy, Biden said, “either brings people together or it knocks them apart.”

“There’s no red tornadoes and blue tornadoes,” he said.

Despite the president’s push for unity in the face of disaster, his visit to the strongly Republican county, which Donald Trump won by a nearly 4-to-1 margin in 2020 — brought out some detractors. Scattered protesters offered up “Let’s go Brandon” chants, used by some conservatives to represent a more vulgar epithet against the president, as Biden arrived.

But Biden’s stop was met with optimism by many residents, who said they hoped the president would help get their communities back on their feet.

Michelle Anderson, 68, who took cover in her bathtub with her cat when the tornado ripped the roof off the second floor of her apartment building, hoped to catch Biden in Mayfield.

“I want to see if he’s going to help individuals who have been affected by this,” she said. “I hope he does.”

Joining the president were Homeland Secretary Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, federal disaster agency head Deanne Criswell and Gov. Andy Beshear.

While congressional business kept him in Washington during the tour, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell leader has spoken about his appreciation for Biden’s response to the disaster. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she is talking to Kentucky lawmakers about what’ is needed for the state — a nod to a possible disaster relief bill with supplemental funds for recovery.

President Joe Biden surveys storm damage Wednesday from tornadoes and extreme weather in Dawson Springs, Ky.

the associated press