In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, then-President George W. Bush was hammered in the press for flying over New Orleans and not visiting. On Monday’s CBS This Morning, co-host Gayle King wondered if Donald Trump was being too attentive and if this was the “best time” to visit the disaster area in Houston.
Talking to Texas Governor Greg Abbott about Hurricane Harvey, King pressed, “Governor, the President has said he will be traveling to Texas as soon as a trip can be made without causing disruption in the wake of this hurricane.” She quizzed, “Right now, he is scheduled to come tomorrow. Is that the best time for him to come?”
Abbott reminded, “The place he will be going to will not be Houston. So, it will not be getting into harm’s way or interrupting the evacuations or emergency response in the Houston area.”
In 2005, CBS hit Bush as aloof and uncaring:
“If the majority of the hardest hit victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans were white people, they would not have gone for days without food and water, forcing many to steal for mere survival. Their bodies would not have been left to float in putrid water....We’ve repeatedly given tax cuts to the wealthiest and left our most vulnerable American citizens to basically fend for themselves....The President has put himself at risk by visiting the troops in Iraq, but didn’t venture anywhere near the Superdome or the convention center, where thousands of victims, mostly black and poor, needed to see that he gave a damn.”
— Contributor Nancy Giles on CBS’s Sunday Morning, September 4, 2005.
On Monday, This Morning guest host Maurice DuBois attacked Trump from another angle, asking how involved the President actually is: “I imagine you’ve spoken to the President a number of times. Are you satisfied with his engagement and his response thus far?”
In another example of immediately politicizing Hurricane Harvey, CBS's Nancy Cordes needled Trump and Ted Cruz on funding issues:
The Trump administration had previously proposed cuts to FEMA's budget. That could change now. And we're also seeing a shift from Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Back in 2013, they opposed a $15 billion Sandy relief bill, but now they are asking for aid for their state. The latest estimate, Nora, for rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey, $50 billion and counting.
[Monday’s bias on CBS was sponsored by Fancy Feast, Olay makeup and Caress lotion.]
On Friday, MSNBC journalists were shocked that Trump hadn't, yet, screwed up the government's response.
A partial transcript is below:
CBS This Morning
8/28/17
8:06amGAYLE KING: Governor, the President has said he will be traveling to Texas as soon as a trip can be made without causing disruption in the wake of this hurricane. Right now he's scheduled to come tomorrow. Is that the best time for him to come?
TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT: The place he will be going to will not be Houston. So, it will not be getting into harm’s way or interrupting the evacuations or emergency response in the Houston area.
...
MAURICE DUBOIS: Governor, I imagine you’ve spoken to the President a number of times. Are you satisfied with his engagement and his response thus far?
ABBOTT: The engagment and response by the President, the White House, by his cabinet and FEMA have actually been remarkable.
