WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump sought to showcase the federal government’s response to Hurricane Harvey in a tweetstorm of his own, marveling over its size like a TV host and announcing a visit to Texas with the natural disaster only just beginning to take its catastrophic toll.
In a series of tweets Sunday Trump said his administration was handling its responsibilities well and, in a tangential aside, hawked a book on race and crime in America written by a supporter.
“Wow – Now experts are calling #Harvey a once in 500 year flood! We have an all out effort going, and going well!”
He later added: “Even experts have said they’ve never seen one like this!”
Harvey is the first major natural disaster of Trump’s presidency and a significant test for a White House that is often chaotic and rife with infighting. Attention on Harvey from officials, the public and the news media also allows Trump to refocus after a turbulent stretch that included his widely criticized response to the white nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.