Trump touts ‘tremendous success’ in Texas hurricane recovery

President Trump on Tuesday touted his administration’s response to Hurricane Harvey and suggested that the federal government could help find “a more permanent solution” to flooding in the state.

“We’ve had a tremendous success in the state of Texas,” Trump said during a briefing with officials in Dallas.

Surrounded by state and local officials, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Trump said he wanted to help Texas find a long-term fix to flooding, and he would look at the cost of doing so.

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“We’re going to look at the concept of a more permanent solution, because you do get inundated,” he said. “This has been going on for decades. Houston’s got some difficulty with that and we’re going to see if we can solve that on a more permanent basis.”

“Let’s take a look at the cost and see if it’s possible to do because that would save a lot of money into the future and it would also put a lot of people to work,” he added, even dubbing himself “the builder president.”

He also proposed that homeowners in flood-prone areas use “greenboard” on the first floors of their homes, saying that it is the same material used around bathtubs and other areas exposed to moisture. Greenboard is a water-resistant drywall. 

“Frankly, if people would do that on their first floor, that water would come in, it would come out, and they would be back in business,” he said. “You wouldn’t have to rip out the whole house.”

The briefing came before Trump was set to appear at a high-dollar fundraising event in Dallas.