PREZ VOWS MODEL RECOVERY EFFORT IN TEXAS TRIP
President Trump tried to reassure flood-ravaged Texans by vowing an extraordinary federal response that would become a model for years to come but warned it will be a “costly proposition” and a “long-term” recovery.
“This is historic. It’s epic what happened, but you know what? It happened in Texas — and Texas can handle anything,” said Trump, who waved the state flag during brief off-the-cuff comments in Corpus Christi, where a few hundred supporters had turned out.
Trump couldn’t resist observing the number of people who had shown up: “What a crowd, what a turnout.”
At a meeting with emergency officials in Corpus Christi that also included first lady Melania Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, Trump praised FEMA administrator Brock Long, but added it was too early to congratulate each other and vowed the response would become the disaster recovery gold standard.
“We want to do it better than ever before,” Trump said of the response. “We want to be looked at in five years, in 10 years from now as, this is the way to do it. This was of epic proportion. Nobody’s ever seen anything like this and I just want to say that working with the governor and his entire team has been an honor for us.”
Trump attempted to maneuver a seemingly impossible political maze in Texas yesterday. He tried to appear engaged and re-
assuring without coming across as opportunistic or desperate for a reputation-boosting photo-op. He also had to visit the disasterstricken region before too many days had passed but couldn’t be seen as hampering an active rescue operation with the massive disruption of a White House entourage and accompanying press pool.
As a result, Trump didn’t tour hard-hit Houston, but the White House said he’ll return to Texas and likely Louisiana on Saturday. Vice President Mike Pence is planning his own visit.
Still, the president faced protesters as he arrived in Austin waving signs that said “Nyet” and “Impeach little hands.”
At the Texas Department of Public Safety, Trump told dozens of disaster responders that their efforts were paying off.
“I will tell you, the whole country and the whole world is really seeing and gaining such respect for everybody,” Trump said. “The job you have done is incredible . ... The world is watching and the world is very impressed with what you are doing.”
Trump then held another meeting with cabinet members and Texas politicians, where he assessed a grim situation.
“The sad thing is that this is long term, nobody has ever seen anything this long and nobody has ever seen this much water,” said the president. “We are going to be working with Congress on helping out the state of Texas. It’s going to be a costly proposition.”
Trump added: “Probably there has never been anything so expensive in our country’s history.”
Throughout the day, the president mainly focused on motivating emergency workers and promising the free flow of federal resources to areas affected by Harvey. He did not embrace the role of consoler in chief, failing to mention those who died or express sympathy for evacuees — even as news spread yesterday afternoon that a Houston police officer had died on his way to work Sunday after driving through the floodwaters.
Other presidents have used such visits in the past to interact directly with victims’ family members and survivors.