CRISIS/MIKE PENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is ‘anxious’ to visit hurricane-ravaged Texas this week and convey to Texans that ‘we are with you,’ Vice President Mike Pence said Monday [8-28-17].
The White House announced Sunday that Trump will visit the state on Tuesday, and Pence said Monday that details of the trip will be forthcoming…
The president approved a disaster declaration on Friday and held two teleconferences with Cabinet officials over the weekend to discuss the administration’s response to Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall along the Gulf Coast on Friday night.
‘The president wants to be there and make sure the families and all of those affected and our first responders know that we are with you,’ said Pence, who added that Trump has been ‘continuously updated’ and ‘fully engaged.’ ‘He’s deployed the full resources of the national government. He’ll reflect on that tomorrow and people can just be confident that as we move through this rescue operation, that we’re there for the long haul. We’re there for the long haul with Texas through the recovery efforts, but now’s the time to focus on life-saving efforts.’
Hurricane Harvey arrived late Friday as a category four storm, battering the barrier islands near Corpus Christi, Texas, before moving northeast and dropping record rainfall amounts on the Houston area, parts of which are low-lying and prone to flooding.
While it’s unclear which parts of Texas the president will visit, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ruled out the Houston area.”
-Nolan D. McCaskill and Louis Nelson, “Pence: Trump wants Texas to know ‘we are with you’,” Politico, Aug. 28, 2017 10:38am