WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump heads to Texas on Friday for a firsthand look at the devastation caused by catastrophic flooding. “Nobody ever saw a thing like this coming,” Trump told NBC News on Thursday, adding, ”This is a once-in-every-200-year deal.” He’s also suggested he’d have been ready to visit Texas within hours but […]
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Trump heads to Texas for firsthand look at flood devastation
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump heads to Texas on Friday for a firsthand look at the devastation caused by catastrophic flooding.
“Nobody ever saw a thing like this coming,” Trump told NBC News on Thursday, adding, ”This is a once-in-every-200-year deal.” He’s also suggested he’d have been ready to visit Texas within hours but didn’t want to burden authorities still searching for the more than 170 people who are still missing.
The president is expected to do an aerial tour of some of the hard-hit areas.
The White House also says he’ll visit the state emergency operations center to meet with first responders and relatives of flood victims. Trump will also get a briefing from officials. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz are joining the visit, with the GOP senators expected to fly to their state with Trump aboard Air Force One.
It’s relatively common for presidents visiting disaster sites to tour the damage by air, a move that can ease the logistical burdens on authorities on the ground.
First lady Melania Trump will accompany the president Friday, marking the second time this term that she has joined her husband to tour a natural disaster site.
During his first weekend back in the White House, Trump again visited North Carolina to scope out Helene damage and toured the aftermath of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
During a Cabinet meeting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described traveling to Texas and seeing heartbreaking scenes, including around Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 people were killed.
“The parents that were looking for their children and picking up their daughter’s stuffed animals out of the mud and finding their daughter’s shoe that might be laying in the cabin,” she said.
Noem said that “just hugging and comforting people matters a lot” and “this is a time for all of us in this country to remember that we were created to serve each other.”