Trump meets Texas flood victims' families, expressing "anguish of our entire nation"

Washington — President Trump expressed the "anguish of our entire nation" Friday after he and first lady Melania Trump met with families of the victims of last week's deadly flooding in Central Texas.

The president and first lady surveyed the devastation in Kerrville, Texas, and met with first responders, local officials and survivors. The death toll in the state stands at 121, but that figure is likely to climb, as rescuers and families continue their search for the missing.

"We just visited with incredible families that — I mean, look, they've been devastated," the president said in a roundtable with state, federal and local officials in Kerrville. "They lost their child, or two children. And, just hard to believe. I've never seen anything like it, a little narrow river that becomes a monster, and that's what happened. But the first lady and I are here in Texas to express the love and support and the anguish of our entire nation in the aftermath of this really horrific and deadly flood."

Mr. Trump met with families behind closed doors, away from cameras.

"We are grieving with you," the first lady said Friday. "Our nation is grieving with you."

The first lady promised to return to Texas to support the families.

The Trumps, along with Gov. Greg Abbott, greeted first responders against the backdrop of a Kerrville firetruck and a pile of felled trees before the roundtable, receiving an update on the response to the flooding.

More than 170 people are still missing from flash floods that consumed the region in the early morning of July 4. Drones, rescue teams and volunteers are combing through debris, hoping to find answers for the families of the missing. The majority of the confirmed deaths took place in Kerr County, where the Trumps visited.

"We're filled with grief and devastation at the loss of life. And unfortunately they're still looking. They're still looking. There's a lot of missing children," the president said.

At Camp Mystic, a girls' summer camp with cabins along the river in a rural part of Kerr County near Hunt, at least 27 campers and counselors died in what the camp described as "catastrophic flooding." Some survivors said they woke up to water rushing through the windows.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said he visited Camp Mystic earlier this week, and saw the little white crosses symbolizing the lives of each girl lost.

"I will tell you, I've never seen anything more horrible in my life, and I just sat there crying," Cruz said during the roundtable with the president. "I saw a mom and dad come up to one of those crosses, drop to their knees and kiss that cross. And the mom was weeping."

Mr. Trump and Abbott promised to rebuild the devastated region, although the president recognized that what was lost can never be recovered.

"You can never say, 'Oh, it's going to be bigger, better, stronger,'" the president said. "So many lives have been lost, you can't say that. But we're going to make it. We're going to make it back. We're going to make it back. And we're going to make it good again."

The president landed in San Antonio on Air Force One before a short helicopter ride brought him and the first lady to Kerrville. He was accompanied on his visit by Texas Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, members of his Cabinet and other Texas lawmakers.

"It's a horrible thing, a horrible thing," the president told reporters Friday before leaving the White House. "Nobody can even believe it. That much water, that fast."

Mr. Trump has avoided assigning blame for the deaths.

"Well, I think everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances," the president said during Friday's roundtable, calling the flooding a one-in-500-years or one-in-1,000-years event. "I just have admiration for the job that everybody did. There's just admiration."

The president also specifically praised the work of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which he has criticized. Mr. Trump has said he wants to "wean" states off assistance from FEMA.

The president said the federal government is "taking historic action to ensure that such a nightmare never happens again," although what that might look like is unclear.

The president said he would have visited Central Texas sooner but didn't want to be "in their way" as rescuers continue their work. Mr. Trump has signed a disaster declaration for the region, allowing FEMA to deploy its own teams to support local rescue and recovery efforts as those operations press on.