Youll be all over it for us as always, thank you so much. Monu raju in washington. Thank you for being with us on this tuesday afternoon. Getting word from the police chief there in houston, texas, the first Police Officer fatality in the storm, sergeant perez, 34 years with houston pd. Im brooke baldwin. The lead starts now. Welcome to the lead. Im Brianna Keeler in for jake tapper. Were going to begin with Breaking News in the national lead. President trump arriving in texas. He is about to get a tour of the Operations Center there after stopping in Corpus Christi today. Today there are new warnings to residents. Get out now as a levee is pushed to its limit in houston and harvey continues to relentlessly pour down on the gulf coast. Just moments ago we learned that a houston Police Officer,
sergeant steve perez, was killed in this storm drowning on his way to work on sunday. His police chief overcome with emotion as he was explaining the decision to not go in after him. It was too treacherous to go under and look for him, so we made a decision to leave officers there waiting until the morning, because as much as we wanted to recover him last night, we could not put more officers at risk. In our hearts it was going to be a recovery mission. Harvey has set a Rainfall Record in the continental u. S. And another foot and a half of rain could fall. Now the storm is over water again. Its maintaining its strength. Its about to make landfall again. Parts of louisiana, including new orleans. Today we witnessed more dramatic rescues. Everyone from the entire Texas National guard to police and First Responders to just regular
people with boats taking part in lifesaving efforts. The Texas Governor estimating that 1,000 people are still trapped, and there are people on roofs who have no food or water. There was even a 73yearold woman who was found upside down and trapped in a current grabbed at the very last second. The red cross said 17,000 people are in shelters across texas. Some could be there for weeks or for months. Our correspondents are across this region. They are covering the president s visit and theyre deep inside the Disaster Zone as well. Cnn senior White House Correspondent jeff zeleny is live for us in austin, texas where the president has arrived to tour the Operations Center. Many said responding to this storm would be a test for President Trump. How does he think this response has gone so far . Reporter brianna, there is no question this is the biggest test yet for President Trump, certainly of a Natural Disaster of this making. He used a variety of adjectives
today when he was in south texas earlier this afternoon. He called it epic, he called it historic, he called the response terrific. So he is praising the local response here. This is what he had to say earlier this afternoon in Corpus Christi. You are special. Were here to take care. Its going well and i want to thank you for coming out. Were going to get you back and operating immediately. Thank you, everybody. What a crowd, what a turnout. Reporter so brianna, at least that clip there in early remarks that he made almost sounds as though he was coming to a Small Campaign rally of sorts. And that, of course, is not what he is here in texas for. He has had a variety of serious meetings with the governor of texas. Hell be arriving here at the state Emergency Command Center behind me within the next several minutes or so. Hes also traveling with the two republican senators, a few members of his cabinet also on board. But brianna, one thing i am
struck by here, seeing all the stories of emotion, all the stories of loss, of devastation still unfolding. We do not know the extent of the damage here. Very little in terms of empathy from this president. Very little in terms of emotion or talking directly to the people of texas. Hes been talking about the businesses, talking about the response and his crowd. Certainly this is a test, a new moment for this president. How hell ultimately be judged, brianna, as every president is in a disaster like this, is not on today, its on the response and the recovery and how Texas Rebuilds if they get federal funds, et cetera, months, perhaps even years, from now. Brianna . That is right, and so many people in need as we look at these pictures. Jeff zeleny is going to stand by for us as we await President Trump going to this emergency center. We hope to get more information about how things are going in texas. I want to go now to houston which is where more than 3500
people have been rescued and more still need help as the water continues to rise, flooding roadways, swallowing homes. And cnns brian todd is in houston for us. Brian, i know you rode along with a customs and Border ProtectionHelicopter Team today. What have they been doing and what did you see . Reporter well, brianna, we just landed a short time ago after flying much of the day with that customs and Border Protection unit called the marine and air operations unit. Their rescues have gone at a furious pace. This unit alone has rescued hundreds of people from floolde homes, often in very dramatic fashion. From the air, this is what houston looks like to responders urgently trying to rescue flood victims. Inundated houtses, roadways and businesses stretching in all directions. Cnn rode with the Border Protection agents in the marine and air response units as they set out to help people in every
area. A hoist was lowered. Six people and a dog were lifted out in that one operation. Other victims have been rescued by hoist, like this Rooftop Rescue on monday of four people. In one of those neighborhoods, we touch down in a sliver of a parking lot thats not flooded. And our first wave of evacuees is hurried onto the chopper. We just landed in a very heavily flooded neighborhood north of houston and picked up nine people, cramming everyone they can into this chopper. Reporter one victim told us there was waisthigh water in her house and they lost everything. She was evacuated by boat to a collection point, then by helicopter from there. What would you have done if these guys hadnt shown up . We would have had to go to the attic. I dont know what would have happened. Theyre lifesavers. Reporter in these conditions, with each flight these agents have to deal with significant danger. You have multiple aircraft doing the same thing in each vicinity, right . Low visibility and going in will and pulling the people out of,
you know, the water thats 40 feet high. Reporter crews have rescued more than 3500 people in houston alone. As they race to save as many victims as they can, authorities are telling victims, hang in there. Dont give up on us. Seek higher ground. We will get to you. We have assets that every passing hour more boats are getting in the water. Reporter in baytown east of houston, Hunter Lumberg thanked his neighbors for rescuing his mother in a dump truck. More than half have gone to shelters in the houston area and more are coming. In brazoria county, a levee was breached which could worsen the flooding there. And Addicks Reservoir in houston began flooding today. It will continue to flood many homes and keep rising. Streets will continue to flood, new homes will continue
to flood. Reporter flooding along the gulf coast now stretches from galveston, texas to lake charles, louisiana and beyond. And, of course, Rescue Efforts are complicated by the fact that authorities dont seem to have an accurate count of how many people are still stranded. Cnn has pressed officials in several jurisdictions about that. They have not been able to give us estimates, brianna, because, of course, calls keep coming in. The situation keeps changing and the Rescue Efforts keep evolving. It is a very rapidmoving situation. Hard to get those estimates of those still stranded, brianna. Brian todd in houston. Thank you for that report. I want to go to ed lavendera in Southeast Texas which is southeast of downtown houston. Tell us what the situation is where you are. Reporter this tells the magnitude of how high the flooding is. Its not only inside houston but in the outlying areas as well. Were in the small town of Friendswood Southeast of houston. Here in the last 24 hours, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated and rescued from neighborhoods just like this. This is just talking to a neighbor here seconds before we came on air. I had asked him if he had seen anything like this and he said no one in this neighborhood had ever seen anything like this and described the entire flooding situation as simply ridiculous. You look back here at the streets, and again throughout the day, weve seen a stream of volunteer of people showing up with their boats, making their way out and navigating these floodwaters to get as many people out of here as possible. Weve seen the rainfall continue for a better part of the day, of course, over the last couple of hours, weve had a little respite from that, but many not sure when exactly these floodwaters will start receding, and it can happen soon enough. That threat of rain making people nervous and they cant wait for the rainfall to end
here as well. As we show you here, someone kind of showing up with their boat to try to make their way here to their home in this neighborhood here in friendswood, brianna, as they try to come to terms with everything theyre seeing here around us this afternoon. Brianna . Just incredible pictures youre showing us of the devastation in friendswood, texas. Ed, thank you for that report. Shelters are filling beyond capacity. The red cross says no one, though, is going to be turned away. I want to go live now to the Houston Convention center where we have our rosa flores. Rosa . Reporter well, brianna, we are learning about the intense neardeath experiences of the people who have been rescued. Thousands are already here. But City Officials know that the need is growing. What theyre doing to accommodate when i see you next. For under 28 a month. Less than 1 a day his secret . Selectquote. In just minutes a selectquote agent will comparison shop nearly a dozen highly rated Life Insurance companies, and give you a choice of your five best rates. Duncans Wife Cassie Got A 750,000 policy for under 21 per month. Give your family the security it needs, at a price you can afford. Since 1985, selectquote has saved over a million families millions of dollars on Life Insurance. At holiday inn express, we cant guarantee that youll be able to contain yourself at our breakfast bar. Morning, egg white omelet. Sup lady bacon fruit, there it is but we can guarantee that youll get the best price when you book with us. Holiday inn express. Be the readiest. W. I was always searching for ways to manage my symptoms. I thought i had it covered. Then i realized managing was all i was doing. When i finally told my doctor, he said humira was for people like me who have tried other medications,. But still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohns disease. In clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant Symptom Relief. And many achieved remission. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers,. Including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions,. And new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb,. Hepatitis b, are prone to infections,. Or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. If youre still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Trying to tally what that new number is, but as the need continues to grow, City Officials tell us they are opening a second shelter. The location has not been announced yet, though. Brianna. The city opening a second shelter. Rosa flores there. Thank you so much for that report. Harveys devastation is really part from over at this point. Its a Tropical Storm and its taking aim at louisiana. So what can that state expect since it marks 12 years to the day of katrina. Plus, north koreas missile test this time right over japan. What option s are on the table for the Trump Administration to respond . Well find them in our subaru outback. avo love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Get 0 Apr Financing for 63 months on all new 2017 outbacks. Ends august 31. Landfall yet again. That state is setting up its emergency plans exactly 12 years to the day that Hurricane Katrina made landfall. Lets go to tom in the Severe Weather center. Tom, what should louisiana, and specifically new orleans, expect . The job for the state and local services is to start to get ready for areas north of houston and east of houston, including a good portion of southwest louisiana. The color purple or any city in the u. S. , if they get 10 inches, theyre going to flood. Weve seen that in southwestern louisiana. This is the size of the state of kentucky, so when you look at the numbers, were most likely on the verge of breaking a u. S. Record. That was 56 inches. The record was in 1978 tropical
storm amelia that dropped in texas and hit 48. So were looking at 48 as the alltime record. But when we talk about Emergency Services for possible rescue events, the rain is going to start to ease up in houston. Sure, they could get a couple more inches, but because its spinning offshore, brianna, its a siphon. Its this vacuum, if you will, and that motion is going to bring more rain in beaumont, lake charles, southwest louisiana. They canceled schools in new orleans and didnt get as much as they expected, but heres the problem spot. We expect landfall in the predawn Hours Wednesday morning. This will be the second landfall. But since its moving so slowly, the amount of rain could be 10 to 20 inches in that area thats already had 10 to 20 inches. The spacing is nice to have. See that separation . That is a surge of movement. That is a faster pace which is what we want to see, but well still be in this for several hours for southeast areas of texas, eastern texas, those counties there and southwest louisiana. So again, brianna, theyre looking at a magnificent area of coverage that we have the warnings now extended east and north. Tom sader, thank you so much for updating us on that. Joining me now is louisianas former governor carrie blanco. Thanks for joining us and bringing us your experience while youg governed Hurricane Katrina. What is your biggest concern for harvey . Its a little too much d de javu. I see too many people needing to be removed from the waters, to be rescued, to be given a place where they can dry out, get food, be warm, change from their clothing. I know they probably left with
just what they were wearing. So its just its a lot. Its a very, very trying time for those who are victimized by this flooding and this extensive rain thats been generated from this massive hurricane. As you are looking now at texas still very much in the middle of this and dealing with the aftermath of harvey and youre looking towards louisiana, are there enough local and state and federal resources . Well, that remains to be seen. You know, when you have such a very large area impacted, it takes a lot more than anyone would ever imagine. So i think well be seeing more and more assistance coming from all around the country. There are many, many willing and able people who are finding their way into the Disaster Area to try to make sense out of something that feels senseless to the victims. As we look towards louisiana, what advice would you give the current governor, governor edwards, as hes trying to help
get louisiana through this storm, considering you certainly have some experience from what happened during katrina . Are the warnings of Katrina Being heeded here . Well, absolutely. I think louisianas paying a very large amount of attention to everything thats going on, because some of our state is in harms way as well. Our current governor, john bell edwards, is really doing an excellent job. We, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, of course rewrote the disaster plan, so governors since that time have had a good master plan to follow that came about as a Learning Experience through our katrina disaster, and i think its stronger than it ever was. When you look at whats happening in texas, do you think Governor Abbott is heeding the Lessons Learned from katrina . Well, Governor Abbott did have well, governors of the
past did have hurricanes to deal with on the texas coast. You know, galveston has been impacted many times and all along that coastal area. And houston has also been impacted. So i know they have good plans and good master plans. I think that perhaps i would encourage them to work at a coordinated response, a very big regional coordinated response to get as many people out of dangerous areas that they could possibly do before a disaster strikes. We were successful in pulling out many, many people, over 1. 3 Million People in a region of 1. 4. Now, i understand were dealing with over 6 Million People in the houston area, in the region. So thats an even bigger jump, but very serious. It just puts more people in jeopardy if they arent prepared to leave or encouraged to leave at the very beginning, at the outset of such an event. We may now be past that
point, right . But weve heard people say, who dealt with disasters, they say you ask people to leave and you know this a lot of times they just dont leiave. But you would have liked to see a more concerted effort to get people evacuated ahead of time, right . Thats right. When you remember katrina, we were dealing with about 60,000 people that had to be rescued. Im thinking the numbers are going to be larger in texas at the end of this story. Former louisiana governor kathleen blanco, thank you very much for joining us. We join with louisiana next with this storm harvey. Our prayers are with them. Certainly, our prayers are with them. North korea trying to send up its fourth missile test in just four days. Plus, Breaking News related to the special Council Russian investigation. What were learning about subpoenas issued, coming up. You do all this research on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. Your Insurance Company raises your rates. Maybe you shouldve done more research on them. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch and you could save 782 on home and auto insurance. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Welcome back to the lead. President trump is in austin, texas this hour being briefed about the devastation caused by hurricane harvey. And a new thunder clap by north korea. The president said all options are on the table as kim jongun fired yet another ballistic missile. The pentagon reported a short time ago that it was an intermediate range missile that flew right over japan. It landed in the pacific ocean. I want to bring in cnns will ripley. Hes actually in pyongyang. Hes the only western journalist on the ground inside north korea. We should note the music we hear behind you is actually a wakeup call to north koreans. Tell us about this fourth missile in just four days. What does this mean . Reporter yeah, jake tapper will be sorry hes missing this, brianna. He always comments about the music but it plays hourly here in pyongyang. Look, this Missile Launch is significant. There were three ballistic
missiles short range that were launched over the weekend that really didnt get that much attention, because were used to seeing that in north korea. First of all, where it was launched is significant. It was launched from the pyongyang airport, about 20 miles from where im standing right now. This is a commercial airport, also military as well, but people fly in, journalists. We just flew into that airport over the weekend. From the capitol, theyre sending a message to the United States that they can launch a message from anywhere, including highly populated areas, which would make a humanitarian strike very difficult. Also notable because of the Missile Launched over japan. North korea, this obviously Wasnt Taking Aim toward guam, this was in a northeasterly direction, it went over japan. Do you think that this is i mean, what are they trying to communicate here by not making good on that target of guam or
near guam . Well, Japans Defense Ministry at first thought since they didnt report it over the south, it went over japan. They didnt shoot it down, the North Didnt Cross that red line that trump laid out. Of course, it still made a very strong impact. We dont know what north korea is thinking here, because near 24 hours after the launch, they had yet to announce it to their own people. It wasnt on the evening news last night, so when we went out and interviewed people about the launch, we were specifically told we couldnt ask them about this missile. What are you expecting north korea to do next . Well, there are indications that there are preparations at the nuclear test site. That is in the mountainous region in china where they test nuclear weapons. The last one they tested was just about a year ago, one week after the joint Military Drills between the u. S. And south korea
ended. Those joint Military Drills are now in their second week. Pyongyang is always furious about them. In fact, thats the reason they have driven for provocations such as this including watching missiles. We need to watch very closely. There is a new opportunity near that test site. I want to talk about all of this now with my panel. We look at what just happened in north korea. We wonder how the Trump Administration is going to respond, paul. Now you have former top adviser steve bannon two weeks ago in what might have been inadvertent candid remarks saying there is no test station in north Koreas Nuclear ambitions here. Then after testing that missile, the president says, all options are on the table. Should we be disinclined to believe him . Thats the problem with diminished credibility. This is where i think its a communications matter. The president has mishandled communications with the chinese. You have to say all options are on the table. Correct, but the president Shufd His General speak first and now launch up. The he says fire and fury. Hes said this dozens of times and weve done nothing. Not that we should go blow up the kre. He lays down so far he hasnt tried to Laurchl Historical Work in the past with today, but well look at what he does with when he speaks in austin. I think everybody is breathing a sigh of relief that they didnt fire at guam. We do have assets in northern japan. There are japanese allies in the region as well as south korea. What north korea is demonstrating right now is, we can shoot any direction at any time. The threat level is very high. The fact they went a different direction means theyre more stable. Nikki haley, the u. N. Ambassador, said something serious has to happen. Thats somewhat amorphous, so is there clarity at this point on what President Trump and the administration wants to do here. No, theres not. Thats what nikki haley said, and today we heard from the president as he departed the white house to go to texas to visit these floodravaged areas. He was asked, what are you going to do about north korea . And he said, well see, well see. So everyone is curious about what well see means, and the language hes used before is very strong, very enforceable. He said his fire and fury
comments werent tough enough, and then this morning he says, well see. Just the other day right before north korea fired this latest missile, Secretary Of StateRex Tillerson was saying he thought north korea had been urging restraint lately. Were clearly not seeing that happen anymore. The president said just a week ago in phoenix this about kim jongun. Lets listen. Kim jongun, i respect the fact that i believe he is starting to respect us. I respect that fact very much. And maybe probably not, but maybe something positive can come about. Probably not. I mean, its just north korea so what he said there about the respect, it seems a little premature, just a bet no one should want to take, paul, to basically say that north korea is respecting the u. S. The staterun agency called the president a headache at home and abroad after this. The problem with that comment from our president is it empowers kim to then decide, which he did by threatening amanda is right, this is a really threatening act that kim is doing. Ambassador nikki haley who has no Prior Experience in National Security and Rex Tillerson who was ceo of exxon have handled this quite well. Its the president im worried about. His general has strong experience and he has a great team on his side. Ive been impressed, so mr. President , let them handle it. Wear one of your goofy Baseball Hats and check on my neighbors in texas. You do have neighbors in texas. Thats important work everyone there is doing, including the president. We have much more to talk about straight ahead, so stay with me, guys. This is what we have ahead. Breaking news with respect to the Council Investigation into the Trump Campaign. And possible collusion with the
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that kind of stuff as they pursue their case. Now, maloney is a Public Relations guy so he doesnt have the same attorneyclient privilege connections, but i would hope a big law firm is going to use its own investigators to protect material that they think is protected by privilege. By the way, whats unusual here is the Mueller Investigators didnt issue a subpoena to wilmer hail. Thats the law firm where Robert Mueller worked a few months ago before he became special counsel. And remember, we thought donald trump jr. Might be testifying in public, and he brokered a deal privately. We learned that donald trump jr. Agreed to sit down with staff from the investigation. This is allow them to ask questions and perhaps get more answers about the june 2016
meeting where a russian lawyer reportedly came forward with this promise of delivering Opposition Dirt on hillary clinton. We dont know yet when this testimony will occur, but they expect sometime in september, brianna. Thank you, and i do want to bring my panel back in here as we cover the big news today, which is harvey. We are awaiting video of President Trump. He has just been in the Operations Center in austin. As soon as we have that, were going to bring that to you. I do want to talk about some of the things we heard the president talk about in Corpus Christi. Lets listen. All right, we dont actually have that. Heres what he said, though. He said is this the tape from the Emergency Operations . This is the sound. Okay, lets listen to this. We want to be looked at in five years and ten years from now as this is the way to do it. This was of epic proportion. Nobody has ever seen anything like this. So governor, again, thank you very much. We wont say congratulations, we dont want to do that. We dont want to congratulate you. Well congratulate each other when its all finished. I think its obviously, kaitlyn, so important that the president is there. Hes reminding people in texas, look, we know whats going on with you. But at the same time when he greeted people outside of this facility in Corpus Christi, he commented on the crowd size. Oh, Lets Stand By for one moment. Thls the president just a short time ago at the emergency Operations Center in austin. Youre doing a fantastic job, and brock has been incredible. And from your standpoint mim and the whole group, and steve who i just met, the job that theyve done getting along. Number one, they like each other, very important, and number two, they respect each other. And the job that all of these groups have done getting along in terms of coordination has
been really incredible. Everyone is talking about it. The sad thing is that this is long term. Nobody has ever seen anything this long and nobody has ever seen this much water. The wind was pretty horrific but the water has never been seen like this to the extent. And its maybe someday going to disappear. We keep waiting. We have four of our great congressmen right here and we really appreciate you being here. Were going to be working with congress on helping out the state of texas. Its going to be a costly proposition because, again, probably ted cruz is here, and senator, thank you very much, senator corwin, and well be working with these characters over here, and i think well come through with the right solution. But probably theres never been anything so expensive in our countrys history, theres never been anything so historic in
terms of damage and in terms of ferocity with what we witnessed with harvey. Sounds like such an innocent name band, right, but its not innocent. I also want to thank my people. Ben carson, as you know, is here from hud. And linda mcmann from small business. I say this is not small business, linda, this is big business. When you add it all up, youll be giving away many millions of dollars to help people out. And tom price, as you know, you have your people in the field, tom. You may say a couple of words and then ill ask linda and ill ask ben, and then i think we get on to nim and brock and everybody. Tom . As you said, this is a historic proportion storm and flood. The challenge we have is to get resources to individuals who are stranded right now, make sure evacuees have a place to go. From an hhs standpoint, our
concern is medical and veterinary. The challenge we have in the long term are individuals who suffer from these suffer from not being able to get the medical care they need when the sun comes out. So trying to make certain that weve got pharmacies staffed, make sure the Dialysis Units are up, making sure folks are getting electricity to their homes so oxygen consequence trar consequence Trar Concentraters are up. Weve got four medical federal stations, two that are up and running. And two the way and weve got another four or five that are stationed depending on what folks need. Thank you very much. Thank you, tom. Linda . Well, sba has its Disaster Relief office in the dallasft. Worth areas. We have 900 people there permanently. We have 600 available in the search. Theyre all coming in. We actually did get a note on the plane in corp us that we made the first Home Loa Loan Approval from this disaster so im glad were already up and running. Well be making business loans, well be making loans for those folks who have lost income and also the opportunity to replace plant, property and equipment inventories. Were up ready to go. Thank you very much. And ben carson from hud. Thank you, mr. President. Thank you for your leadership and mrs. First lady also. The compassion permeates everything thats been done. Its been great working with everybody. And, governor, one of the people i admire the most with what youve been doing. Brock is doing a fantastic job. And elaine. Everybody that weve been working with is fantastic. What weve been trying to do is make sure we go from the phase of rescue and reaction to the phase of recovery and a smooth transition. Were also going to be assisting the state and local governments in reallocation of federal accidents to Disaster Relief, looking at granting immediate foreclosure relief. Insurance, mortgage insurance, as well as insurance for rehabilitation through the section 203k program. Section 108 loan guarantees for infrastructure for Economic Development and for a host of things. And also disseminating information which is so critical. The masses frequently become confused. Were working very hard to get rid of some of the regulatory burdens so we can get things done very quickly. Linda and i will be working on that to make sure we get what we need to the people. And i want everybody to know that were in this for the long run. We know that once the water recedes, thats where our work really begins and were going to be at it until we finish the job. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Linda, why dont you take over along with brock and well get some of the Different Things weve been doing. This will be our third swing now from harvey. About 200,000 hours of time has been generated just in a few of the Emergency Operations across the city. That is the emergency Operations Center there in austin where President Trump has just been speaking with members of his cabinet. There are also a number of congressmen from texas there, senators from texas and, of course, the fema administrator who was speaking there. Kaitlyn, as you look at this, and we see donald trump
throughout the day, this is its so important the work that he does here and what his administration does in what is just a catastrophe in texas, and were still looking at harvey moving into louisiana. Do you get the sense that the administration understands that, this this is just one point in time and that the real test is ahead of the president here . Yeah, i do think they realize that and i think the administration realizes this a big chance for them to get this right. Theyve really tried to be on top of this ever since when it was just barreling Toward Texas On Thursday and friday. Weve seen that, because these things can be careerdefining for a presidency. Just as we saw 12 summers ago with george w. Bush and the way they handled Hurricane Katrina. I think the Trump Administration has realized that and theyre going to be judged off the way they handle this recovery and the response to this hurricane. Thats why weve seen it. Thats why the president wanted to go there as soon as today and avoid the areas that were hardest hit and instead chose
somewhere like Corpus Christi which wasnt hit as hard. And thats why hes going to louisiana on saturday. And at the risk of interjecting politics into this, were talking about a number of people, millions of people, who are really, amanda, just trying to get through the hour at this point in time. But as youre watching whats happening there in this response so far, whats your assessment of the administration at this point in time in delivering for folks who need help . Well, in that Press Conference i was struck by the way that Secretary Price mentioned the mortuary needs that will be needed later. I dont mean this as a knock to President Trump, but this is a man who sold luxury all his life. This is probably his first very real exposure to suffering and strife. He has to make a dedicated, concentrated, sustained effort to keep the eye on texas. The white house is going to try to pivot to tax reform tomorrow. I think he is going to have to juggle a lot of balls in the air, but you must commit to a sustained focus on houston. On the Campaign Trail he talked about making America Great again, rebuilding airports like la guardia. You need to start by Making Houston and the surrounding area great again. Paul, this is your hometown. When we talk about getting through the hour, were talking about your family members. Some of them are flooded. Theyre okay, the family and the kids and pets are okay, but its a heartbreak. Jeff zeleny started this hour by talking about empathy. Thats, to me, the soul of morality. Every major religion says think about the other person. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I would like to see more of that because that empathy will lead to the constant consistency over time. Going to austin, getting a sense of it. What im hoping is it will spark some empathy, that he can feel the pain of the folks who are there. This is his most important duty now, and if he can somehow open
his heart a little to suffering hes never seen before none of us have seen anything like this this. Hes got to find a way to connect with the pain. Do you think he is so far from what youve seen . He almost is focused on the board meeting, the folks around him, the people in charge of getting this done. But the people were watching right here who are out there struggling, do you think he gets a sense of that . I havent seen it yet. I want him to. When you see these stories, how can your heart not be moved . Look at that first responder, crawling along the bayou. I think there are only 20 boats from the city and theres hundreds of just civilians, just normal people, jumping in their bass boat, the whole redneck navy going out there and saving each other. If he could expose himself to it more, it would move his heart. Im frankly stymied that hes