This is a state that ‘ can handle anything,’ Trump assures crowd
President Trump mounted the front bumper of a firetruck Tuesday in Corpus Christi, Texas, waving a state flag and telling the gathered crowd: “We love you. You are special. We are here to take care of you.”
Trump came to Texas to survey the damage from Hurricane Harvey and rally communities trying to escape floodwaters.
“It’s historic, it’s epic, but I will tell you, it happened in Texas, and Texas can handle anything,” Trump told hundreds of people outside a firehouse after he received a briefing from federal agencies responding to the disaster.
Trump arrived for a two- city tour of the state to make sure the region is “receiving full support and cooperation from the federal government.” He flew to Austin for a tour of the state’s emergency operations center and meetings with state officials.
“We want to be looked at in five years and 10 years from now as ‘ This is the way to do it,’ ” Trump said at the firehouse in Corpus Christi as dispatch calls came over an address system.
Trump said it was too early to declare the relief efforts an unqualified success.
“We won’t say congratulations. We don’t want to do that,” he told Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. “We’ll congratulate each other when it’s all finished.”
The windbreaker- wearing White House delegation included first lady Melania Trump, Housing Secretary Ben Carson, Health Secretary Tom Price and Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon.
On the ride from the airport, the president’s motorcade passed trees, signs and fences knocked down by the hurricane’s 130- mph winds.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said aboard Air Force One that Trump’s schedule was “fluid,” but he would avoid the worst- hit areas. “The president wants to be very cautious about making sure that any activity doesn’t disrupt any of the recovery efforts. ... As of right now, I don’t know that we will be able to get to some of the really damaged areas,” she said.
One of those areas is Houston, where 9,000 people shared 5,000 cots at a makeshift emergency shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
“We are very aware of the issues at the convention center,” Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Brock Long told Trump in Corpus Christi. “But let me be clear, this is not the Superdome.”
The New Orleans Superdome was an enduring symbol of the poor response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Trump said Monday that he may return to the region over the weekend.
“To the people of Texas and Louisiana: We are 100% with you,” Trump said.
“We’ve pledged our full support as Texas and Louisiana battle and recover.”