Barack Obama speaks up and shows how a President should respond during Hurricane Harvey
Thus far Donald Trump’s responses to Hurricane Harvey and its deadly aftermath have largely consisted of bragging about what a great job he’s doing of handling the storm, picking fights with Senators, demanding that funding be given to his border wall at a time when it clearly needs to go to hurricane recovery efforts and plugging his friend’s new book. It’s represented a new low, even for him. But now Barack Obama has spoken up and demonstrated how a President is supposed to respond.
President Obama retweeted a Red Cross post that explained how donations can be made to the Hurricane Harvey effort, and he added his own words of wisdom: “Thank you to all the first responders and people helping each other out. That’s what we do as Americans. Here’s one way you can help now.”
Thank you to all the first responders and people helping each other out. That's what we do as Americans. Here's one way you can help now. https://t.co/iGfE8rAoAu
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 27, 2017
In so doing, Obama demonstrated that a President can in fact handle a crisis in a Presidential matter by simply sending a tweet. In less than 140 characters, Obama offered more leadership and guidance than the entirety of Trump’s response thus far to the hurricane. It’s also a reminder that, because the United States essentially no longer has a President, in times like these, Obama is still America’s de facto leader.
Meanwhile Donald Trump’s tweets during the hurricane aftermath have looked like this: “I will be going to Texas as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety. I will also be going to a wonderful state, Missouri, that I won by a lot in ’16. Dem C.M. is opposed to big tax cuts. Republican will win S! With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other.” Oh, and he also bragged about his own hurricane response: “We have an all out effort going, and going well!”
