After the first presidential visit to Houston, Trump is arriving at the city once again this afternoon to visit the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Four days later, the President is visiting Houston to show his condolences in front of those who are paying the consequences of the disaster left by Hurricane Harvey. He’s joined by the first lady, Melania Trump.
Both President and First Lady will be received by four Cabinet members – such as the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos – alongside the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, at the military reserve base in the southeast part of Houston.
The flooding left streets, establishments and houses destroyed – or at least completely covered with water by a few inches. According to experts, this will represent a huge economic loss estimated in $30 billion just for property damage. Recently, President Trump donated $1 million of his earnings to help the victims and asked the Congress for an initial payment of $7.8 billion.
“When one part of America hurts, we all hurt. When we see neighbors in need, we rush to their aid. We don’t ask their names or where they are from — we help our fellow Americans every single time,” said President Trump in a statement. “All American hearts are with the people of Texas and Louisiana. We mourn and pray and struggle through the hardships — together.”
A lack of compassion in front of Harvey’s victims
President Trump visited Houston on Tuesday to pay the victims his condolences after the tragic results of Hurricane Harvey. At least 47 people died, and other 43,000 people are being protected in shelters.
However, on that first visit, Mr. and Mrs. Trump stayed out of the disaster zone to avoid wasting resources on rescue efforts. Also, they didn’t mention or visit the victims of the flooding because they wanted to focus on the logistics of the government response, resulting in a bunch of critique within the public referring to the lack of empathy and compassion.
On Saturday, the presidential couple revisited Houston and made an appointment to meet the victims of the flooding, before they traveled to Lake Charles, Louisiana. The President also called for a “National Day of Prayer” on Sunday for Hurricane Harvey’s victims.
According to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, President Trump wasn’t able to meet the victims and to go deeply into Houston. However, she assured that he’d be able to do it on Saturday.
“He’ll have the chance to meet extensively with quite a few storm survivors, as well as talk with some of the volunteers that are helping administer a lot of the support that these individuals have needed over the last week,” said the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders . “And then from there, he’ll go to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he’ll do a stop there as well, meeting with a lot of the volunteers and other storm survivors.”
Source: BBC