President Trump said Tuesday that he wanted the response to the devastation left by Hurricane Harvey to serve as a model for future response efforts to natural…
President Trump said Tuesday that he wanted the response to the devastation left by Hurricane Harvey to serve as a model for future response efforts to natural disasters.
“We want to do it better than ever before. 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, ” the president said in Corpus Christi, Texas, during a briefing with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and other federal, state and local officials.
Trump called their combined response “a real team” effort, and praised the on-the-ground performance as rescue efforts continued with more drenching rains and catastrophic flooding in the forecast..
“You have been just outstanding, and I can tell you that my folks are telling me how great your representatives have been in working together. I just want to say that working with the governor and his entire team has been an honor for us, ” the president said.
“We won’ t say congratulations. We don’ t want to do that. We don’ t want to congratulate. We’ ll congratulate each other when it’s all finished, but you have been terrific.”
The president and first lady planned to visit other water-logged areas of coastal Texas on Tuesday, and Trump had said he would also return on Saturday.
A spokeswoman said Trump wanted to be “very cautious” about making sure that his activities in Texas don’ t disrupt Harvey recovery efforts.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump’s stops Tuesday in Corpus Christi and Austin were intended to highlight coordination at all levels of government and lay the groundwork for what is expected to be a lengthy recovery after the storm.
Trump traveled with the Cabinet secretaries of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development, and the head of the Small Business Administration. Sanders says the secretaries will meet with their Texas counterparts.
Air Force One flew a path to Corpus Christi that avoided flying over Houston, where much of the downtown area is under water.
With AP
