Getty President Donald Trump on August 28.
President Donald Trump arrived in Texas Tuesday to see the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. He will be touring Corpus Christi, near where the storm made landfall early Saturday morning, and will then have meetings in Austin. You can watch a live stream of Trump’s trip below.
Trump was expected to arrive at Corpus Christi International Airport at 1:00 p.m., the White House said. Texas Governor Greg Abbott will be with Trump, according to the Austin Statesman.
After visiting Corpus Christi and sitting in on a briefing with local leaders, Trump will head to Austin, The White House Said. Once there, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will take a tour of the Emergency Operations Center at the Texas Department of Public Safety. They will also attend a briefing on Harvey there. They will be back in Washington D.C. by 8:30 p.m.
Although Corpus Christi is no longer being battered by the storm, it is close to Rockport, where Harvey made landfall. Rockport Mayor Charles Wax told CNN that his city saw “catastrophic damage” and “widespread devastation.”
“He will see great damage,” Abbott said. “He will, I think, be going close to where the hurricane came across land and there’s great devastation there. And he may even be able to see the flooding that’s taking place in Houston, Texas. And it’s just total devastation. And it will break his heart and it will humble him like it humbles all of us and I know it will spur him to be very helpful to our fellow Texans.”
Abbott told MSNBC on Monday that Trump will still see “great damage” even though he’s not going to Houston.
Trump announced on Sunday that he would be going to Texas as soon as he could without being a disruption. Abbot said that Trump couldn’t visit Houston, which is still crippled by catastrophic flooding and is still dealing with more rain from the storm. KHOU reports that at least nine deaths in the Houston area have been linked to Harvey, including the deaths of a family of six who drowned in a van while trying to escape.
“We see neighbor helping neighbor, friend helping friend and stranger helping stranger,” Trump said during a joint press conference with the President of Finland on Monday. “We are one American family. We hurt together, we struggle together and believe me, we endure together.”
“To the people of Texas and Louisiana, we are 100% with you,” Trump added. “We will get through this. We will come out stronger. And believe me, we will be bigger, better, stronger than ever before. The rebuilding will begin and in the end it will be something very special.”
Trump also praised Abbott, noting that he is “doing a fantastic job.”
Harvey has been a major test for the Trump Administration, as it is his first major natural disaster as president. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump visited Louisiana after it was hit by record flooding.
Trump was also praised by Abbott for signing a disaster declaration on Friday, before the storm hit. He also signed an emergency declaration for Louisiana, which will see more rain from Harvey this week, on Monday.
