Trump Has Been in Texas All Day and Hasn’t Offered a Shred of Empathy for the Victims of Hurricane Harvey

‘Very Little in Terms of Empathy From This President’

President Trump has been in Texas for more than five hours and not once has he publicly offered a single ounce of empathy for the people who are suffering from Hurricane Harvey’s wrath. Not a word of condolence about the 15 people we know have lost their lives to the hurricane he so gleefully mentions is historic, not a word acknowledging the pain and suffering literally millions of people are experiencing, not a word about their struggles, not a word asking people to donate, not a word saying he will rally his billionaire buddies to help the victims.

Mediaite reports “CNN senior White House correspondent Jeff Zeleny remarked that in his reaction to the historic storm so far, POTUS appears to be more focused on the emergency response, businesses and his crowds as opposed to the victims themselves.”

“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,” Zelany said on CNN (video above). “Very little in terms of emotion or talking directly to the people of Texas. He’s been talking about the businesses, talking about the response and his crowd. Certainly, this is a test, a new moment for this president. But how he’ll ultimately be judged, Brianna, as every president is in a disaster like this, is not on today, it’s on the response and the recovery and how Texas rebuilds if they get federal funds, et cetera, months, perhaps even years, from now.”

CNN’s Zeleny was far from the only person stunned by Trump’s complete lack of caring.

Former George W. Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, a Republican, wasn’t shy mentioning it Tuesday afternoon, as Raw Story’s David Edwards reported.

“I was with President Bush when he went to see the devastation caused by fires in Arizona and tornados in Missouri,” Fleischer said on Fox News. “And there was something missing from what President Trump said — I hope he will say it later today — but that’s the empathy for the people who suffer.”

“That, in my opinion, should have been the first thing he should have said,” he continued. “That his heart goes out to those people in Houston who are going through this and that the government is here to help them recover from this. And then secondly, the job of the president is to thank those who are the first responders.”

EARLIER: ‘What a Turnout!’: Trump in Texas Thinks His Hurricane Harvey Visit is a Campaign Stop

There are many more who are saddened and shocked, and it wasn’t only the national news outlets that are wondering why Trump can’t bring himself to express a shred of emotional support for millions living through the devastation, and the 15 who died from it.

Reporters from the Dallas Morning News shared their report with White House poolers covering Trump.

“Reporters heard no mention of the dead, dying or displaced Texans and no expression of sympathy for them,” the Dallas Morning News poolers reported. “The message was services are coming and Texans will be OK.”

And it wasn’t just Tuesday. 

Brian Klass, a London School of Economics Fellow who frequently tweets about U.S. politics, on Sunday noted Trump’s tweets on Harvey were were devoid of empathy:

Trump has literally, as far as NCRM can determine, only once acknowledged the people who are suffering – and not once mentioned those who have died from Hurricane Harvey. He’s barely tried to offer comfort or support for the victims.

ThinkProgress on Tuesday noted that “since Harvey made landfall, Trump has mentioned the victims just once.”

“I want to begin today by extending my thoughts and prayers for those affected by Hurricane Harvey and the catastrophe of flooding and all of the other difficulties that they’re currently going through in Houston, in southeast Texas,” Trump said in prepared remarks at a press conference Monday. “Now it’s looking more and more like the state of Louisiana will be also affected.” 

Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, a frequent Trump critic, predicted this:

Others on social media have certainly also noticed the president’s sheer lack of caring or concern for the people of this country who are suffering unimaginable challenges and loss:

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Image by Gov. Greg Abbott‏ via Twitter