Trump offered no reassurance that his administration is prepared to handle the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. His only message to the people of Texas was, “Good Luck” as he did his usual Friday bolt from the White House.
Video:
Pres. Trump to the people of Texas while departing the White House to head to Camp David: "Good luck to everybody." https://t.co/6TtXa1kben pic.twitter.com/IMbNdfuE2Q
— ABC News (@ABC) August 25, 2017
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Trump was asked if he had a message for the people of Texas. He said, “Good luck to everybody. They’re going to be safe. Good luck to everybody. Good luck.”
Before Hurricane Sandy, Obama went to FEMA headquarters for a briefing, received another briefing in the Situation Room the next morning, pre-declared a state of emergency after the weather forecasts worsened, and then he addressed the nation.
But right now, the key is to make sure that the public is following instructions. For those of you who still need additional information about how to respond, you can go to Ready.gov — that’s Ready.gov. And that website should provide you with all the information that your family needs in terms of how you can prepare for this storm.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the people who are potentially affected. We are extraordinarily grateful for our first responders, because they’re going to be working 24/7 around the clock, non-stop. And I want to make sure that our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who may end up be dealing with a very difficult situation over the next several days.
Last point I’ll make, though — this is going to be a big storm. It’s going to be a difficult storm. The great thing about America is when we go through tough times like this we all pull together. We look out for our friends. We look out for our neighbors. And we set aside whatever issues we may have otherwise to make sure that we respond appropriately and with swiftness. And that’s exactly what I anticipate is going to happen here.
So I want to thank all the federal teams, state and local teams that are in place. I’m confident that we’re ready. But I think the public needs to prepare for the fact that this is going to take a long time for us to clean up. The good news is we will clean up and we will get through this.
Obama demonstrated how a president is supposed to lead, while Trump is going to get people killed.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
