Former US presidents gather for hurricanes fundraiser
The five living former US presidents
have gathered for a concert in aid of victims of the hurricanes which
ravaged the US this year.
Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, George HW Bush and Jimmy Carter appeared in Texas on Saturday.
The
three Democrats and two Republicans came together behind The One
America Appeal, set up to help those caught up in the devastating trails
of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
It has raised $31m (£23.5m) so far.
The politicians launched the appeal in the aftermath of
Hurricane Harvey, which caused billions in damage after it made landfall
in Texas in August.
However, it has since been expanded to include the communities in
Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands which were hit by the
storms which followed.
"As former presidents, we wanted to help
our fellow Americans begin to recover," Mr Obama explained to
concertgoers in a pre-recorded message.
His immediate predecessor
added: "People are hurting down here but as one Texan put it, we've got
more love in Texas than water."
All five presidents appeared on
stage for the anthem, before taking their seats to watch acts including
Lee Greenwood, who opened with Proud to be an American, and Lady Gaga.
They were not joined by sitting President Donald Trump, who sent a
message ahead of the show praising their "wonderful" work and expressing
his "deep gratitude".
Both Mr Obama and the younger Mr Bush have made speeches in the last week which have been seen as veiled criticism of the former reality TV star's tenure in the White House.
BBC
No comments
Your comments and Encouragement are welcome