WASHINGTON, D.C. – Remarks made Wednesday by President Donald Trump at a hurricane briefing in Washington, D.C., have rubbed some people the wrong way.
While praising the work of the United States Coast Guard, Trump took what could be interpreted as a slight jab at the city of Houston and its residents.
Trump said the rainfall in Texas during Hurricane Harvey was record-setting and that the country getting hit by "three devastating major hurricanes" within a month was a unique situation.
Trump said the help he got from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was especially useful.
"Our entire government leapt into action to coordinate the response, along with the state and local leaders," Trump said. "And we did have a lot of help from some really great governors — Florida, Texas. A lot of great people helped us, and it was great."
The Trump comment in question came later in his remarks, while he was praising the Coast Guard for its thankless work during the natural disasters.
"I also want to recognize the Coast Guard, our other military services. I have to tell you, the Coast Guard saved 16,000 people," Trump said. "And I think — you know, honestly, they don’t get enough credit in many ways."
Trump seemed to insinuate that Texans who went out in boats to watch the hurricane made a bad decision and may have caused the Coast Guard to perform more rescue operations.
"I think this year the Coast Guard, maybe in terms of increased branding — the brand of the Coast Guard has been something incredible what’s happened," Trump said. "Saved 16,000 people, many of them in Texas, for whatever reason that is. People went out in their boats to watch the hurricane. That didn’t work out too well. That didn’t work out too well."
You can read Trump's entire transcript here.
The Cajun Navy, a nonprofit organization that helped rescue Houstonians during Hurricane Harvey, has responded to Trump's comments on Twitter, saying, "We can ssure you WE did not just sit back and watch the hurricane."
We can assure you WE did not just sit back and watch the hurricane..
— CajunNavyRelief (@CajunNavyRelief) June 7, 2018