HELPING HANDS
Prez brings promise of relief to Houston Justice: Bam DID NOT tap Tower
A BEAMING President Trump delivered optimism, box lunches and the uncertain promise of a rapid recovery on a whirlwind Saturday tour of hurricanesoaked Houston.
The commander-in-chief posed for selfies and kissed a pigtailed little girl as he showed a more compassionate side inside a crowded relief shelter set up after Hurricane Harvey pounded the Lone Star State.
Trump, accompanied by a casually dressed First Lady Melania Trump, later assured residents of a Houston neighborhood that work was already underway to undo the tens of billions of dollars in storm damage.
“It’s going to happen, going to happen very fast,” said Trump. “It’s already happening. Good luck, everybody.”
Other parts of Texas weren’t faring as well as some in the nation’s fourth-largest city.
The drinking water system in Beaumont was still idled by the flooding of its pumps. Firefighters in Crosby stood watch over a chemical plant where three trailers loaded with unstable compounds exploded in the past two days.
Trump popped into Houston’s NRG Center within an hour of his arrival in Texas for the second time in five days.
The President wore a black windbreaker over an open-collared white shirt as he visited with Harvey victims and volunteers, hugging and high-fiving kids before handing out box lunches.
“There’s a lot of love,” Trump said after mingling with the group of children. “They were just happy. We saw a lot of happiness. It’s been a wonderful thing.
“As tough as this (hurricane) was, it’s been a wonderful thing, I think, even for the country to watch and the world to watch. It’s been beautiful.”
Trump met with the kids before distributing hot dogs and potato chips to those driven out of their homes by the unprecedented storm that dumped a record 50-plus inches of rain on Houston. He also paused before putting on the plastic serving gloves, declaring “My hands are too big” — referencing a disconcerting theme raised during the GOP primary last year.
Trump said the message received from the people in the shelter was “things are working out well” in the Texas recovery efforts. He was even joined at a suburban Houston church by his old frenemy, Sen. Ted Cruz.
But things were not as rosy as the President indicated.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner ordered the evacuation of 4,600 residences in west Houston, where hundreds of local citizens rode out the storm.
“Put your own personal safety above your property,” said the mayor, setting a deadline of 7 p.m. Sunday for their departure.
More than 1 million people were displaced by the brutally powerful storm, with Gov. Greg Abbott suggesting the price tag for reconstruction of the state could hit $125 billion.
The death toll hit 50, with funerals starting in the waterlogged state — including one for local high school football coach Ruben Jordan. The body of a Port Arthur woman was found partially submerged Saturday inside her flooded bedroom.
The number of Texas counties declared disaster areas climbed to 36, with close to 200,000 homes damaged statewide — and 12,600 totaled.
And as many as 12,000 Houston students will be reassigned to new schools because of damage to their old buildings in Houston. The opening of school was already delayed until Sept. 11.
In Katy, Tex., residents rallied Saturday in hopes of getting answers to questions about their still flooded homes.
Planned releases of water from a local reservoir flush with storm water are keeping the properties swamped — a process likely to continue for two weeks.
As Houston struggled to regain some sense of normalcy, the Astros hosted the Mets in the first professional sporting event since Harvey made landfall Aug. 25.
The home team exacted some revenge on Harvey — knocking out Mets pitcher Matt Harvey, who surrendered seven runs in just two innings as the Astros won 12-8. The Mets won the second game of a doubleheader 4-1.
Houston Rockets star James Harden announced a $1 million donation to recovery efforts in the city. A fund headed by Houston Texans defensive tackle J.J. Watt cracked the $15 million mark this weekend.
The Trumps later visited floodravaged Lake Charles, La., before returning to Washington aboard Air Force One.
Trump told reporters that the view from the presidential plane flying into Houston indicated the situation was getting better. “There’s a lot of water, but it’s leaving pretty quickly,” said
Trump. “But there’s a lot of water. A lot of water.”
Melania Trump, after arriving on Tuesday’s visit to the devastated Long Star State in a $600 pair of Jimmy Choo snakeskin pumps, wore sneakers and a green baseball cap with “TEXAS” above its bill this time.
The White House has already asked Congress for a $7.9 billion initial commitment toward Harvey relief. “We’re signing a document now to get the money,” Trump told reporters in the shelter. “We signed it, and now hopefully it’s going through a very quick process.”
Trump took some heat over his Tuesday foray to Texas, where the President appeared more focused on self-congratulation than compassion. But he appeared more at ease during Saturday’s visit, stopping to rub elbows with Houstonians whose homes were under water last week.
“Here’s my guy,” said Trump, waving at a man in a “Trump for President” T-shirt who took off his sunglasses and posed for a picture with Trump. “Look at this guy. You just became famous.”