CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave to supporters lining Leopard Street in Corpus Christi after his meeting with emergency response officials Aug. 29. Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbot shake hands after the meeting at the Annaville Volunteer Department. First responders give President Trump an update on the state’s recovery efforts from the effects of a Category 4 hurricane. Courtesy photos
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump met with local officials and community leaders at the Annaville Volunteer Fire Department in Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Thousands of people lined Leopard Street outside the fire station to watch the motorcade come in from Corpus Christi International Airport.
Most cheered as the stream of cars pulled into the parking lot. They chanted Trump’s name while waiting for him to come out after his briefing from emergency officials on Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts. The crowd grew throughout the hour-long meeting as social media spread the word of what had been a top-secret location for the meeting.
Also attending the meeting was Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Small Business Administration Director Linda McMahon, FEMA Administrator Brock Long, U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, State Sen. Chuy Hinojosa and State Reps. Todd Hunter and Abel Herrero. Mayor Joe McComb and Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal were also on hand for the briefing.
In pointing out the cabinet members who flew with him on Air Force One, Trump especially noted McMahon of the SBA.
“She’s in charge of small business, which is now big business because when you add them all up, you will be helping a lot of people in Texas,” he said.
He also pointed to Brock Long, his new head of FEMA.
“Here’s a man who has really become very famous on television,” Trump continued. “Mr Long has been very outstanding.”
Local and state officials were applauded for their quick and efficient teamwork in responding to the disaster.
“My folks have told me how great your representatives have been working together — it’s a real team,” Trump said. “We want to do it [recovery response] better than ever before. We want to be looked at in five years, 10 years from now as this is the way to do it.”
Trump referred to the extreme weather event as one of “epic proportion.”
“Nobody’s ever seen anything like this,” he concluded. “I just want to say working with the governor and his entire team has been an honor for us.”
He stopped just short of congratulations with the following remark.
“We don’t want to say congratulations,” he said. “We don’t want to do that. We’ll congratulate each other when it’s all finished.”
In leaving the fire station, Trump noticed the cheering crowd, some clutching books and shirts they hoped to get signed. One woman had a St. Christopher necklace that had given her luck. She wanted to pass it along to the president.
Before leaving, Trump and his wife both jumped up on the bumper of a truck in the fire station’s parking lot and waved a Texas flag at the crowd.
“What a crowd!” he yelled. “What a turnout!”
Back at CCIA, Air Force One loaded up and took off for Austin, where Trump was to sit in on a second briefing about Hurricane Harvey recovery.
