Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / No words...as Liberal Media Spins and Blames trump

Transcript

No words...as Liberal Media Spins and Blames trump · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: I hope that you had a great Fourth of July weekend.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna be honest with you. Ours is terrible. If
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: you know what has happened in Texas, it has been
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: one of the saddest and most sombering stories that I've
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: ever had to deal with.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: We know.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: One of the victims, families of a girl that's lost
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: her life, and we know people that are preparing for
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: that funeral. And I having three kids, and this is
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: just a hard one. So if you hear my voice cracking,
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: it's because it is. I just went and hugged my
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: kids before I started doing the show, and my oldest
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: was like, what's wrong, and I was like, I'm just
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: it's Today's been a hard day, a sad day. It
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: has been a hard and a sad day since all
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: of this happened. Because when you know people who are
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: affected by this, and you see the pain in their life,
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: and then you think about your own children who are
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: the same age. My kids are six and eight, they're
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: the same age of these kids that are missing, it
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: is just.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: It's hard to explain.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: I think it tests your faith, the question of why
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: would God allow this to happen.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: To kids? At a Christian camp is a question that I've.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Been asked I don't even know how many times over
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: the last three four days. I can tell you that
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: the one thing that I love about Texas in general
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: is how quickly people have rallied.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: That's the good news.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Like the amount of people that have gotten involved and
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: the people that have rallied the people that have.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: Stood by is as amazing. It's just incredible.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: The stories that have come out of this are are incredible,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: and I'm going to get into some of those. But
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: I also want you to know about this area. I
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: know this area incredibly well, Comfort and Currville, h and
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: where this camp was because it's where we go multiple
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: times a year.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: With our family.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: My kids have grown up going to Kerrville with family
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: members that are kind enough to invite us to their ranch.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: It is my kid's favorite memories. And what you may
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: not know about this area is when it rains, the
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: water doesn't go into the ground like traditionally it does
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: where I'm doing the show from now in Houston. Like
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: it rains and the water soaks in, it doesn't instantly flood.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: The flash flooding there is unbelievable. There's a lot of
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: rock and the soil is different. We had just gone
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: down to the ranch in Curveville where this took place
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: the weekend when school got out, and with all my
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: niece and nephews and my kids and family, and we
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: went down there and the night I think was the
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: night before we got there, there was rain. And they
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: don't get a lot of rain in this area. Traditionally
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: they will go months without with barely any rain. And
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: it rained, and they got a big rain that filled
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: up the lake where we fish, and it had been
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: low before and had filled it all the way up.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: But the amount of debris on the property from that
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: rain that did not last very long was unbelievable. I mean,
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: it looked like there was mulch on every side of
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: the lake, and the and the and the and where
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: the runoffs come in from up in the hills, and
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: and you can see how quick the water rushes.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: And we know that about that area.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: We know the flooding areas are real, and anyone that's
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: in that area knows this. The there has been a
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: lot of people trying to blame and say it's this,
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: that and the other, and playing politics, and Democrats claiming
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: that this was because of cuts that were made to
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: FEMA and other things, which is all ie, and we're
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: going to go through that, but I want you to
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: understand I don't I mean, I don't think anyone can
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: quote prepare for what we witnessed. Talking to people that
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: have been talking to the campers that survived and the councilors.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: How quickly the water rose was unprecedented if it happened
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: in this way and the way the weather. It was
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: a lot like Harvey over Houston and that hurricane where
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: the weather just stalled out and just kept dumping and
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: dumping and it didn't move through like traditional storms do.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: This was a once in a generation flood, one hundred
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: year flood, if you want to call it that. And
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I've seen that before when I lived in Memphis when
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: the Missippi River had one hundred year flood, but you
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: had time with that one in warning, and they were
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: able to build the burms and get people out and
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: have evacuations. This floo food that took their the lives
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: of so many people and these young kids happened so
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: quick in the water row so quickly, and to watch
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: people play politics on this is also I think really sick.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: I think it's really really sad.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: Because I don't know if people did things that were wrong.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: The guy who ran this camp, for example, he died
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: trying to save people's lives.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: I don't think. I think they thought there might be flooding.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: But these kids in these cabins, they didn't build that
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: close enough to the water for normal flooding.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: You understand my point.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: I mean, this camp been there for a very long
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: time and they'd never seen water levels anywhere close to
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: what they just went through the way the.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: Trees were snapped, the homes were picked up.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: The RV parks where they build them, yeah they're by
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: the water, but they're not where the flooding is traditionally,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: historically for decades, they're not building these these these RV
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: parks that every ten years you would get washed out.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: It doesn't work that way, and there's a lot of
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: I think, ignorance and people wanting to blame, and unfortunately,
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: sometimes things like this happen that we've never seen in
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: our lifetime.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: They've never seen this in their lifetime.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Yes, flooding does happen, But the idea with the Democrats
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: wanting to use this is like a political point to
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: somehow blame Donald Trump or anybody else might be one
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: of the most violent discussing things ever. I'll give you
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: another example of this and just how personal it is.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: You may have seen a story that went viral of
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: a pediatrician who decided to post in essence that kids
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: deserve to die because in this area they voted for
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: There was a.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Doctor that posted, may all visitors, children, non MAGA voters,
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: and pets be safe and dry with the praying hands.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Then it says Kerr County MAGA voted to gut FEMA.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: That's a lie. But it doesn't matter. They deny climate change.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: May they get what they voted for. Bless their hearts.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: The doctor who posts that, this woman who posted it
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: is a pediatrician. Just another example of how close it
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: is a home where my children go. She is in
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: the pediatrician group where my kids are treated. Now you
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: can imagine after seeing this, and thank goodness that pediatric's
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: office put that doctor on leave and then announced today
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: very quickly that that doctor has been terminated, which is
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: absolutely appropriate. But when you look at that and I'm like,
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: I can't imagine if that doctor was on call when
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: my kids needed help, and are they going to look
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: at me differently because I voted for Donald Trump because
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: of what I do. And you just realize in these
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: moments how vile the left has become, Like this is
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: not even and like it is so vile that you're like, oh, well,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: those little girls deserve to die. By the way, none
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: of those little girls voted because they were Magavos. They
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: deserve what they get because you deny climate change. May
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: they get what they voted for? Bless their hearts. And
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: when you see this, you realize just how fall in
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: the world is that we live in. And it's sad,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: and it's sad that there's people that want to politicize
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: this horrific tragedy for political gain on the left. You know,
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: earlier I was talking, well, it's different of mine, and
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: you guys know this to do a show with Cinder
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: cruzho were talking last night as he was down in
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: Texas and Kerrville and comfort and getting ready for today.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: And to see the number of people that are just
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: wanting to attack and somehow claim that this attack happened
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: solely because of the politics, and that oh, well, this
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: could have been avoided because if they would have done
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: something differently. I cannot tell you just how sick these
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: people are. And Kerrville. Senator Cruz made these comments when
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: he was talking about the devastating flooding and after seeing it,
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: and I want to play this for you because I
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: think it's important and I want you to hear what
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: he said, and I'm going to play for you also
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: the White House.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: But listen to what he said.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: And this is where he's meeting with these families who've
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: lost their kids, and yet there's questions that he's having
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: to answer about the politics of this warning.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: System so people had a chance to escape something like this.
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: Well, listen, I think anytime you're dealing with major rivers,
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: there's a risk of flooding, and there's always been a
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: risk of flooding, particularly Guadalupe River. I will say in
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: the wake of every tragedy, there are things that are predictable.
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: One of the things that's predictable is that you see
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: some people engaging and I think partisan games and trying
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: to blame their political opponent it's for a natural disaster,
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: and you see that with a hurricane, with a tornado,
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: with a wildfire, with his flooding, where people immediately say well,
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: the hurricane is Donald Trump's fault. You know, look that
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: I think most normal Americans know that's ridiculous. And I
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: think this is not a time for partisan finger pointing
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: in attacks. Now, after we come through search and rescue,
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: after we come through the process of rebuilding, there will
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: naturally be a period of retrospection where you look back
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: and say, Okay, what exactly transpired, what was the timeline,
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: and what could have been done differently to prevent this
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: loss of life?
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: And that's a natural process.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: I think it should not happen in a bitter and
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: partisan sense, but it should happen in a reasonable sense
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: of saying what lessons can we learn? And I will
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: give an example. You know, Houston's my hometown. If you
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: live on the Gulf Coast, we get hurricanes. Part of
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: living on the Gulf coast as hurricanes hit. And I
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: do think Texas as a whole has learned over time
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: how to deal more effectively with hurricanes. And so you
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: look here, we know the National Weather Service put out
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: an emergency warning just after one am, and a second
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: emergency warning just after four am. Now, obviously most people
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: at one am and four am are asleep, and so
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: I think we will have a reasonable conversation about a
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: are there any ways to have earlier detection and some
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: of that. The limits of a flash flood, they're very
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: difficult because they can arise so quickly.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: But everyone would agree.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: In hindsight, if we could go back and do it again,
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: we would evacuate, particularly those in the most vulnerable areas,
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: the young children in the cabins closest to the water,
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: we would remove them and get them to higher ground.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: If we could go back and do it again, obviously
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: everyone would. The people at RVs by the river's edge,
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: we know, and disasters like this. RVs and mobile homes
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: are particularly susceptible, whether a flood or a hurricane or
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: a tornado, they're particularly susceptible to that. And so my
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: hope is in time we will learn some lessons to
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: implement to next time, and there will be another flood.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: There will be another disaster, but next time there's a flood,
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: I hope we have in place processes to remove especially
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: the most vulnerable from harm's way. But I think that's
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: going to be a process that will take a careful
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: examination of what happened and how can we implement processes
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: better in the future to prevent this same loss of life.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: You hear his answer there, and it's like, how are
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: we even having to answer a question about the politics
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: of this, And yet that's exactly what the left did.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: The left wanted this to be about politics, and the
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: White House Press Secretary had to defend and blast Democrats
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: and members of the media have sought to blame somehow
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump for the death toll from the flash flooding
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: that no one could have imagined would have been this bad,
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: because it's never been this bad in her lifetime. Caroline
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: Levitt had to call it the Senate Minority Leader Chuck
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Schumer in particular, for accusing him of spreading falsehoods. She
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: then gave a timeline of the warnings issued by the
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: National Weather Service in the days and hours before the
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: deadly Fling flooding, which claimed now at least ninety one
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: lives as I speak to now, unfortunately, we're expecting that
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: number to go up. I want you to hear what
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: she said at the White House Press briefing and the
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: fact that this is what she's having to say instead
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: of focusing on the tragedy because the left is trying
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: to turn this in political attack.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: Tells you just how soulis they become.
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: I want to start by addressing the devastation from the
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: tragic flash floods in Texas. Moments ago, the Department of
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: Homeland Security provided an update that ninety one innocent souls
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: have now perished. Everyone here at the White House, including
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: the presidents of the United Slime States, is praying for
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: the victims, families, and friends during this unimaginable time. President
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: Trump swiftly signed a major Disaster declaration for Care County,
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: Texas to ensure our heroic first responders have every resource
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: they need in the relief and recovery efforts. Secretary of
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: Homeland Security Christinome traveled to Texas over the weekend, and
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: the entire Trump administration is working hand in glove with
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: state and local officials to provide every assistance available. The
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: situation on the ground remains dangerous and there could be
• 14:34
  Speaker 4: additional public safety threats with potential incoming heavy rain, so
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: we encourage everyone in the area to remain vigilant, listen
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: to all warnings, and respond accordingly. Unfortunately, in the wake
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: of this once in a generation natural disaster, we have
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: seen many falsehoods pushed by Democrats such as Senator Chuck
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: Schumer and some members of the media. Blaming President Trump
• 14:57
  Speaker 4: for these floods is a depraved lie and it serves
• 15:00
  Speaker 4: no purpose during this time of national mourning. Here are
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: the facts. In the lead up to this tragic natural disaster.
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: The National Weather Service did its job despite unprecedented rainfall.
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: The National Weather Service executed timely in precise forecasts and warnings.
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: On July third, the National Weather Service Office in Austin,
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: San Antonio, Texas conducted forecast briefings for emergency management in
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: the morning and issued a floodwatch in the early afternoon.
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: Flash flood warnings were also issued on the night of
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: July third and in the early morning of July fourth,
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: flash flooding conditions occurred. In The National Weather Service office
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: in New Brunfels, which delivers forecasts for Austin, San Antonio
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: and the surrounding areas, had extra staff on duty during
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: the storms, despite claims of the contrary. So to any
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: person who has deliberately lied about these facts surrounding this
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: catastrophic event should be deeply ashamed. At this time, the
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: administration's focus will be on giving the victims in their
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: communities the support they deserve during these recovery efforts in
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: this tragic time. May God bless the great people of Texas,
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: especially the parents who have lost their children. President Trump
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: loves you, we are praying for you, and he will
• 16:20
  Speaker 4: be traveling to see you later this week.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: The fact that she had to spend that time to
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: clear the record because of the media putting out these lies,
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: because the left putting out these lies saying that this
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: was somehow Donald Trump's fault, that somehow this was because
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: of him, I think maybe one of the most disgusting
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: things I have ever witnessed, knowing that this is something
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: that is was unfortunately a once in a lifetime disaster.
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: And I want you to hear the partisan is here.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: The Cinan woman says, quote, I don't know if there's
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: a direct line between the National Weather Service and cuts
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: in the flooding, but this is what government is for.
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: There are no direct lines. The warnings work the right way.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Unfortunately, there was people that didn't get those warnings or
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: didn't realize how bad it could be. And by the way,
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: this is not a flood in this way that happens
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: every couple of years, there's flooding there, nothing like this.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: This is a once in a lifetime event.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: And I want you to hear how they're just like,
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: we gotta blame Trump no matter what, even as we're
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: showing first responders trying to find dead bodies.
• 17:36
  Speaker 5: I think it's wrong for Texas to blame the National
• 17:39
  Speaker 5: Weather Service, and I think it's premature for the President
• 17:45
  Speaker 5: to say it wasn't the National Weather Service. I will
• 17:48
  Speaker 5: say one thing, Phil and these cuts to the National
• 17:52
  Speaker 5: Weather Service, to NOAH, to FEMA, the potential elimination of FEMA,
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: we will miss them when they're gone. I think we
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: need to say that now. I don't know if there's
• 18:02
  Speaker 5: a direct line between the National Weather Service and cuts
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: and what happened, but this is what government's for. It's
• 18:10
  Speaker 5: to help people and prepare them for the damage and
• 18:15
  Speaker 5: the devastation.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: So in other words, you're just talking out of your abs.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: You have no idea, but you're seeing an opportunity here
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: to try to blame Trump and the government.
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: I'll give you another example.
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: Matthew Daud, Senior political analysts at NBC News MSNBC I
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: want you to listen to his vile attack, saying the
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: tragedy of Texas flooding was totally preventable.
• 18:35
  Speaker 6: Matt, Dad, let me bring you in on this and
• 18:37
  Speaker 6: let me just pull back the curtain. Our last conversation
• 18:41
  Speaker 6: about your next appearance on this show was about a
• 18:43
  Speaker 6: piece you read about trauma. And now you are in
• 18:47
  Speaker 6: the middle of the state you love, with neighbors you love,
• 18:52
  Speaker 6: suffering this extraordinary heartbreak.
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: Where are your thoughts today?
• 18:57
  Speaker 7: Well, I'm glad to be here to talk about this,
• 18:59
  Speaker 7: and I'm I mean, I'd just like to put some
• 19:01
  Speaker 7: context and follows something with what Ryan said. I mean,
• 19:04
  Speaker 7: this is incredibly tragic, incredibly sad.
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: All of us know this, and who visited this area.
• 19:09
  Speaker 7: Spent time on the Guadaloup had you know, I've spent
• 19:12
  Speaker 7: a lot of time in Center Point. I had a
• 19:14
  Speaker 7: cabin on the Guadaloup and understand the flood risks that
• 19:17
  Speaker 7: exists there. But these camps and especially a place like
• 19:20
  Speaker 7: Camp Thestick. Just so people understand, this is a tradition
• 19:24
  Speaker 7: that everyone in Texas, Central Texas, Houston, Dallas knows of
• 19:29
  Speaker 7: these of these kids spending time boys and girls on
• 19:33
  Speaker 7: these camps and this camp. In specifically, I've talked to
• 19:36
  Speaker 7: people whose grandmothers went to this camp, whose mothers went
• 19:40
  Speaker 7: to this camp, and then their daughters have gone to
• 19:42
  Speaker 7: this camp. And so this is a tradition that's of Texas.
• 19:45
  Speaker 7: It's now been completely shattered in a very traumatic way.
• 19:49
  Speaker 7: In this I so disagree with this idea of like, oh,
• 19:53
  Speaker 7: there's no way to know this thing was going to come.
• 19:55
  Speaker 7: There was no way to know, you know this this
• 19:57
  Speaker 7: was going to happen. It was as Donald Trump is,
• 20:00
  Speaker 7: it's one.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: Hundred year event.
• 20:01
  Speaker 7: How would we know this is flash flood Alley as
• 20:05
  Speaker 7: the senator, why, I'm sure we'll talk about this is
• 20:07
  Speaker 7: something that we know about that we shouldn't have been
• 20:10
  Speaker 7: prepared for, that we should have been doing something about
• 20:12
  Speaker 7: for decades and decades and decades locally and at the
• 20:16
  Speaker 7: state level and at the federal level.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: The fact that we.
• 20:19
  Speaker 7: Didn't and now we're sort of sort of dealing with
• 20:21
  Speaker 7: this immense tragedy is so and so incredibly disturbing in
• 20:25
  Speaker 7: this because this was, in my view, the tragedy of
• 20:29
  Speaker 7: this and the extent of the tragedy of this was
• 20:31
  Speaker 7: totally preventable because we've known on the Guadalupe River and
• 20:35
  Speaker 7: that river basin. This kind of thing can happen, and
• 20:38
  Speaker 7: maybe not as bad as it would happen as tragic
• 20:41
  Speaker 7: it did. But this is this is not every hundred years,
• 20:45
  Speaker 7: This is every few years where these flood events happened.
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: Let me just stop there so that you understand the
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: facts behind this. If what he just said was true,
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: then this camp would have been devastated every couple of years,
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: which would have mean that they could not keep the camp,
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: that the camp wouldn't exist, that the cabins would have
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: been washed away every couple of years, and no one
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: would invest in that there is flooding there. Yes, he
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: had a cabin on the Guadalupe, as he described it,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: and guess what he bought that cabin, not thinking that
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: every three years he's gonna have to rebuild it, or
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: every two years, or every few years, has.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: He described it.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: It's another example of an individual who's like, well, you know,
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: and this is a problem, and this should never have happened.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: This is totally preventable. It's a once in a lifetime event.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: I don't care who the president of United States of
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: America is. But to then say, well, this is probably
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: connected to FEMA or Trump or cuts or is that
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: doctor put it? If you voted for Donald Trump, you
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: get what you deserve here like this is this is
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: the fault. This is your fault. I mean, I go
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: back to do this doctor. This pediatrician, thank goodness, has
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: been fired over the insensive social media posts. I would
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: say it's more than insensitive that Trump supporters got what
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: they voted for with the Texas floods. The fact that
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: she felt safe enough as a pediatrician to put that
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: out there like this is some sort of yeah, we'll
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: show yeah, you know, you deserve what you get. And
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: I'm glad that Trump supporters and their children died. And
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: the media is sitting there like we got to play
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: politics on this, and and the White House had to
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: spend the time giving the timeline of the National Weather
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: Service and explain the National Weather like how it worked
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: and explain when when the warnings came out. I just
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: you would think in a moment like this, where so
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: many kids were taken, you would think in that moment
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: that people say, Okay, for this moment, Hey, I'm I'm
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: gonna I'm gonna chill. I mean as I'm as I'm
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: recording this right now, we're up to ninety five. The
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: death toll has gone up. We're expecting it to go
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: up even more. I hope I'm wrong, but people have
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: talked to well over one hundred. Is what they've told
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: me is the reality of the situation we're in right now.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: And you hear that and you realize what's happening, And
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: yet you think there's there are actual people that go
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: on TV or there's journalists that go out there and
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: they're like, I want to I want to figure out
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: a way to nail the people I don't like politically
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: and somehow turn this into a political issue, Like God
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: help them. I mean that when I say it like that,
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: what world are you living in?
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: If this is it? Like?
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: This is what you think, this is what you believe
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: that these are not, by the way, the only ones.
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: MSNBC a couple hours later, one of their commentators said,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: this about Donald Trump.
• 23:50
  Speaker 8: You've reached The President had said that he thinks he's going.
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: To go to Texas this week. What's the White House saying?
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: That's right?
• 23:57
  Speaker 8: The President has said that he probably will go to
• 24:00
  Speaker 8: Texas on Friday. The White House pres Secretary, though, is
• 24:03
  Speaker 8: making it very clear that those plans are not final.
• 24:05
  Speaker 8: The other thing that the White House is doing is
• 24:07
  Speaker 8: really pushing back on this notion that the National Weather
• 24:10
  Speaker 8: Service didn't have the resources and the staffing that it
• 24:12
  Speaker 8: needed at.
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: The time that this flood happened. In order to do what.
• 24:17
  Speaker 8: Was best for the residents in Texas, the White House
• 24:19
  Speaker 8: Press secretary said multiple times, it's just in the last
• 24:22
  Speaker 8: few minutes here that they these offices in this part
• 24:25
  Speaker 8: of Texas that they had what they needed, that they
• 24:28
  Speaker 8: were adequately staffed. I talked to a White House official
• 24:31
  Speaker 8: who actually called it disgusting to try to criticize any
• 24:35
  Speaker 8: sort of staffing levels at the National Weather Service or
• 24:38
  Speaker 8: to try to blame the Trump administration for cuts that
• 24:40
  Speaker 8: happened at the National Weather Service for why this flood
• 24:43
  Speaker 8: has become as deadly as it is. The White House
• 24:46
  Speaker 8: Press secretary pointing out that this is a once in
• 24:49
  Speaker 8: a century, once in a few decades level flooding and
• 24:52
  Speaker 8: that this was something that nobody would have really seen coming.
• 24:56
  Speaker 8: That being said, the White House is also pointing to
• 24:58
  Speaker 8: meteorologists that we've seen in Texas, saying that there were
• 25:01
  Speaker 8: staffing concerns, but that there were no staffing issues that
• 25:05
  Speaker 8: led to ample warnings not be giving out in the
• 25:08
  Speaker 8: way that they were. We at NBC News, they've also
• 25:10
  Speaker 8: talked to some people meteorologists and others who say that
• 25:13
  Speaker 8: the National Weather Service had the staffing that it needed,
• 25:16
  Speaker 8: even though again that there were concerns about staffing. We
• 25:19
  Speaker 8: both so, of course, I'm sure Jullians going to tell
• 25:20
  Speaker 8: us about the lawmakers that we are at that are
• 25:23
  Speaker 8: now wanting this issue to be more investigated. But the
• 25:26
  Speaker 8: White House here taking a really defensive posture on the
• 25:29
  Speaker 8: idea that anything that President Trump did hurt the people
• 25:32
  Speaker 8: in Texas, and the White House Press Secretary also saying
• 25:34
  Speaker 8: that the President wants to give Texas any of the
• 25:37
  Speaker 8: resources it needs in this moment, Katie.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: I go back to just the basics here. We know
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: for a fact the National Weather Service had extra staff
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: when this happened, but they want you to believe that
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: no one was there the Associated Press putting this headline
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: up there. Weather Service had extra staffers. The National Weather
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: Service office in New Bronseil, which delivers forecasts for Austin,
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Santonio the surrounding areas, have extra staff on duty during
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: the storms where the office would typically have two forecasts
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: on duty. During clear weather, they add up to five
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: on staff. Quote, they're extra people in here that night.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: And that's typical in every Weather Service office. You staff
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: up for an event and bring people in on overtime
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: and hold people over.
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: So it was not a staffing issue.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: The Democrats are so desperate to attack Trump and wanting
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: Trump supporters to die that they're trying to cook up
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: a new lie.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: They're trying to tell you that this happened.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: Hell, you've got the Houston mayor, by the way, John
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Whitmer's office said a woman who went on social media
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: that worked for them, said that they could deserve what
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: they got because they were these the Texas girls were
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: white and and quote, they're deporting your family members is
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: being per I mean, this is how how sick these
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: people are. Thank goodness, she's been permanently removed from Houston's
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: food and Security services staff. Like these people went on
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: social media, they've gone on TV and they're telling you
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: that they're glad that other people.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: Are dying, and it's all bs. Just so you know.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: The National Weather Service office in Austin's Antonio issued a
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: flood watch over twelve hours before the flood, and a
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: flash flood warning three hours in advance, and these political
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: analysts go out there and they use this and say, well,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: it could have happened. No, you're liars and your scumbags,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: and we have the receipts to prove it. Let me
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: also say this, God, bless the families. I cannot tell
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: you how hard pray.
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: Pray.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: Pray for these mothers and fathers that lost their daughters.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Knowing people that are involved in this is just truly,
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: I don't have have words for it. They're gonna need
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: a lot of prayers, and the people of Kerrville and
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: comfort in this whole area, they're gonna need help too.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: I'll see you back here tomorrow.