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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump traveled to Texas on Friday to meet with first responders and families of flood victims after last week’s catastrophic floods left over 100 dead and more than 150 people missing, including 27 children and camp counselors from a Christian summer camp.
At a roundtable event with officials and emergency personnel in Kerrville — one of the hardest-hit areas — Trump called the flooding an “unthinkable tragedy,” comparing the disaster to a “giant wave” and a “monster” river that overwhelmed communities without warning.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Trump said. “I’ve gone to a lot of hurricanes, a lot of tornadoes. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Praise for Rescue Teams, Grief for Victims
Trump offered condolences to families and lauded the “heroism” of National Guard members, police officers, and trauma teams responding to the emergency.
“They’re still looking,” he said. “There’s a lot of missing children, possibly, mostly. We don’t know, but they’re still looking.”
Among those joining Trump on the visit were Gov. Greg Abbott, Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn in the GOP primary. Trump was also accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, and Rep. Chip Roy.
Even TV personality Dr. Phil, a Texas native, was present at the roundtable. “You’re looking good, Phil,” Trump joked. “This is a hell of a situation, isn’t it?”
Controversy Over Preparedness and Alert Failures
Despite the show of unity and support, the administration faces mounting criticism over the lack of preparedness and weakened federal response capabilities, particularly after cuts to the National Weather Service, NOAA, and FEMAunder Trump’s administration.
Local officials in Kerr County, dubbed “flash flood alley”, are under fire for failing to issue text alerts as the storm intensified and for not installing a siren system, which some previously dismissed as too costly.
Trump was pressed about these failures by reporters. He dismissed questions about missed warnings as “very evil,” but later acknowledged the need for a better alert system.
“You’ll probably come up with something very unique, because there’s no system right now,” Trump said. “A thing like this has never happened.”
Local officials disagreed, with Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring telling MSNBC that the state rejected a siren grant request in 2017.
“We talked about it, we asked for help, and we were denied before,” Herring said.
Federal Response and FEMA Cuts Under Fire
Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Texas earlier this week, unlocking federal aid for Kerr County, which overwhelmingly supported him in 2024. Still, critics say the delayed response and recent policy changes at FEMA made the situation worse.
Under Secretary Kristi Noem, FEMA spending above $100,000 now requires her direct approval, a change some say slowed the flood response. Trump rejected that claim in a phone interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, saying Noem was “right there from the beginning.”
Meanwhile, the planned dismantling of FEMA and the exodus of seasoned emergency managers under Trump’s second term have raised new questions about the country’s disaster readiness as extreme weather events intensify.
“We were right on time,” Trump insisted. “We were there.”
Looking Ahead
As search operations continue along the swollen Guadalupe River and hopes of finding more survivors fade, attention turns to what lessons can be learned — and what systems can be rebuilt — to ensure this tragedy doesn’t repeat.
Trump’s visit marks his second to a natural disaster zone this term, following a trip to wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles in January. But while his presence brought comfort to some, for others, the visit renewed frustrations about long-standing gaps in preparedness, funding, and accountability.
“After having seen this horrible event,” Trump said, “I would imagine you’d put alarms up… if they see any large amounts of water.”
Whether that happens — and who pays for it — remains to be seen.
