President Trump Visits Texas As Harvey Continues To Wreak Havoc, Brings Promises Of Quick Aid, Services

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX— President Trump went to Texas Saturday to see for himself the work of responders as they work to deal with the damage that Hurricane Harvey has inflicted on the state so far. He met with local and state leaders as he made stops in Corpus Christ and Austin.

It was Trump's first trip to the scene of a natural disaster within the United States since becoming president. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that every effort was made not to add to the state's burden and that they purposely stayed away from the hardest hit areas.

Hurricane Harvey has wreaked havoc on Texas since the weekend, killing at least 15. The storm, which had stalled over Houston, has been regaining strength and is now headed toward New Orleans.

Trump traveled with his wife, Melania, and several key staffers, including the White House director of Legislative Affairs, Marc Short, who is drafting an aid package for the beleaguered state. (For the latest on the president's visit to Texas and other White House news, subscribe to Patch to get a daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.)

Four members of the Cabinet — Housing Secretary Ben Carson, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon and acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke — are also traveling with the president.

FEMA Administrator Brock Long was already in Texas helping coordinate the federal response and joined officials on the tour. The director of the Small Business Administration's Disaster Assistance Unit, James Rivera, also made the trip.

"SBA plays a really, really big role" in making loans to individuals and small businesses, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

Also See: Experts Warn Contaminated Floodwater Could Be Harvey's Next Threat

Sanders said the secretaries making the trip were picked because "each of their agencies will play a really big role particularly in the recovery efforts going forward and today they will be with their counterparts of the governor's Cabinet."

Those meetings will lay the foundation for what, Sanders said "is going to be a long recovery effort."

"Those are agencies that will have a pretty heavy lift in this process and so we want to make sure that they have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with, with not just the state, but also the local authorities," Sanders said.

Trump made three public appearances — one inside of a fire station in Annaville, outside of Corpus Christi, one outside the fire station, and one in the state's emergency operations center in Austin.

In each appearance, the president's comments focused on the response by himself and his administration, along with guarantees of fast aid to help the state.

At times, his comments — such as when he spoke to a crowd of a couple of hundred that had gathered outside the fire station — seemed as if he was addressing a campaign rally.

"We love you, you are special," he told the crowd, speaking with the help of a microphone, his voice barely heard above the wind, from a top a ladder. "We are here to take care of you. It's going well.

"What a crowd, what a turnout. It's historic, it's epic, but I tell you, it happened in Texas, and Texas can handle anything."

The president then held up a Texas flag someone handed him.

That was greeted with even louder cheers.

Not everyone was happy to see him. There was a smattering of protesters.

One banner read "Liar, cheat, racist," another read "Latinas against Trump" while another said "You pardoned Joe, what about Jose?"

Just a little earlier, inside the firehouse, wearing a white baseball cap with "USA" on it, Trump made it clear that he wants his administration's response to be seen as a model for the future.

"We want to do it better than ever before," he said. "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," Trump said. "No one has seen anything like this."

He thanked Texas' two Republican senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, as well as Long, the FEMA administrator, for being on hand to support hurricane and flood victims.

"He really has become very famous on television in the last couple of days," Trump said.

The president made a point of saying he didn't want to congratulate anyone yet — it's too early

Texas Governor Greg Abbott introduced the president to local officials, offering praise for the actions of Trump and his administration.

"Members of the president's Cabinet and the president himself were in contact with me and my office pre-preparing for this catastrophe coming our way," he said.

"Every step of the way as the hurricane came across the shore, as the flooding began in Houston, Texas, the president and his Cabinet remained in constant contact with me and my staff, and they all had one thing to say. Texas, what do you need? how can we help?"

In Austin, The Trumps and other officials visited the Emergency Operations Center set up by the state's Department of Public Safety.

In a room with row after row of computer terminals with responders stationed in front of them, red, green, and yellow triangular signs above their head identifying what agency they are with, Trump sat for his final briefing during this Texas tour.

See Also: Trump Stops In Austin To See Damage; Doesn't Meet With Evacuees

"I will tell you, the whole county and the whole world is really seeing and gaining such respect for everybody," he said. "The job you have done is incredible, what we have done is under circumstances, I said before, the word 'epic' and 'historic,' these are words used to describe this monster known as Harvey, but the job you have done is special.

"The world is watching, and the world is very impressed with what you are doing."

The president was then led into a smaller conference room along with Abbot, the two Texas senators, other lawmakers and the members of the Cabinet who had made the trip.

They were seated around a conference table.

Abbot spoke first, talking about how aboard Air Force One, Trump had watched videos of the devastation in Houston.

"The president was heartbroken about what he saw," Abbot said.

The president said he would be working with Congress to come up with an aid plan.

"It's going to be a costly proposition," he said, then, pointing to the two Republican senators from Texas, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, as well as some members of the House of Representatives, added:

"We'll be working with these characters over there and think we'll come through with a really, you know the right solution."

The president then received a briefing from agency representatives and headed back to the airport so he could return to the White House.

Absent from the president's three sets of public remarks — which focused on the themes of "Texas will survive" and "services are on their way" — was any mention of those who had died or expression of sympathy for those who had lost their homes.

According to the transcripts of his remarks provided by the White House, the president never referenced those who died, those who were displaced.

Among the words he never mentioned: dead, died, homeless, displaced, and loss.

Among those who perished was Houston Police Sgt. Steve Perez, who drowned Sunday while trying to make it to work in Houston's historic flooding. His body was recovered by divers Tuesday hours before the president's arrival in Texas.

The president — and vice president — both plan to be back in Texas, and maybe Louisiana depending on the weather, on Saturday.

Also See: Some Of The Many Ways You Can Help Harvey Victims

Photo: President Donald Trump, flanked by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and first lady Melania Trump speaks during a briefing on Harvey relief efforts, Tuesday, Aug. 29 at Firehouse 5 in Corpus Christi, Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)