Trump proclaims Sunday ‘National Day of Prayer’ for Harvey victims

President Trump has declared Sunday a “National Day of Prayer” for those affected by Hurricane Harvey. 

Surrounded by leaders from the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Trump signed a proclamation from the Oval Office on Friday inviting “all Americans to join us as we continue to pray for those who have lost family members or friends, and for those who are suffering in this time of crisis.”

“I don’t know when this was done last, but it’s been a long time ago,” Trump told reporters. “Is that a correct statement? It’s been a long time ago.”

Standing behind Trump as he signed the proclamation was Vice President Pence, who visited Texas on Thursday to survey the damage from the storm. 

Reporters in the White House tweeted out pictures of the somber moment:

Praying with @realDonaldTrump in the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/Ti6F2byUl2

— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) September 1, 2017

{mosads}

Trump and first lady Melania Trump are set to make their second trip to Texas in less than a week on Saturday as the state begins what is expected to be a long recovery effort.

Trump visited the Corpus Christi area on Tuesday, where he met with state and local officials, before flying to Austin, the state’s capital.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm in southeastern Texas last week before dumping historic rains on the Houston area that left the city and surrounding towns fighting widespread flooding.

As of Friday afternoon, the death toll from the storm had climbed to at least 46.