Trump Won’t Stop Treating Harvey Like a Campaign Rally

“What a crowd, what a turnout.”

Yin Bogu//ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

President Donald Trump arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, where he met with emergency responders to discuss Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, and extend his support to Gov. Greg Abbott amid the storm’s devastation.

The president was joined by first lady Melania Trump, as well as several cabinet members, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, and the Small Business Administration boss, Linda McMahon. 

But it’s perhaps what Trump failed to leave behind in Washington that’s been attracting the most attention today: his signature bravado, exaggeration, and self-congratulation.

During his brief visit on Tuesday, Trump repeatedly relied on superlatives to describe his administration’s response to the storm, labeling it “better than ever.” At one point, he commended FEMA administrator Brock Long for “becoming very famous on television” over the past several days.

“We won’t say congratulations,” Trump said during a press conference. “We don’t want to do that. We don’t want to congratulate. We’ll congratulate each other when it’s all finished.”

Despite the dire backdrop, the president appeared to relish his visit, boasting about the size of the crowd that gathered during his tour. One moment in particular recalled the tone of a Trump political rally: “Thank you everybody, I just want to say we love you, you are special, we’re here to take care,” he said, atop a firetruck. “I want to thank you for coming out. We’re gonna get you back and operating immediately, thank you everybody.”

He added: “What a crowd, what a turnout.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O24vxjf9q1E

In 2012, Trump warned against viewing Barack Obama as a “real president” during Hurricane Sandy. 

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate