Trumps Reaction to Hurricane Harvey

You’ll notice how quickly his supporters are to jump on a train of falsehoods claiming that the Obama administration failed to help during hurricane Katrina when he wasn’t sworn in until 4 years after that storm. This storm yet again revealed the multiple sides of this complicating president and his supporters.

Trump created many more traps for himself to fall into by promising that Texas will be in “fantastic shape” again and that it will happen “very, very quickly,” which is an unlikely claim given the devastation the storm has left and with what is still to come.

In more typical presidencies, a storm would be an opportunity for a president to share unifying speeches and talk about shared missions. One would talk about the humanity of its nation and praise those who have come together to help the victims of the storm.

Trump, however, is showing again that he has little interest in pursuing what’s typical in a presidency. He’s trusting his own brand of words and images to carry through what figures to be a prolonged period of rebuilding and anxiety.