# Harvey puts Trump's crisis management skills to the test. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 3, 2017, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387 "2017-09-03T06:19:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387/1 "2017-09-03T06:19:03Z")
I’m keeping this as neutral as possible. The BBC’s headline is the thread title. I think the BBC struck a balanced tone. The article is by no means, a ringing endorsement of our new President. It does point out the administration’s earlier problems and miscues. But, fair is fair. People were in desperate straits and the system worked. The rescue & initial recovery efforts have gone pretty well. A lot of volunteers made a big difference. > [@](#): > > Brock Long, the head of Fema, had worked for years in emergency management before taking the job and knew how to oversee a rescue effort. Trump’s second trip to Houston went well. He appeared concerned and engaged with the survivors. I guess he took a cue from Pence’s trip a couple days ago. Regardless of motive, both men’s trips provided a much needed morale boost. The next big test is getting the funding for Aid passed. It’ll be several years before we know if Houston can be the city it once was. The victims will need a lot of support. I sincerely hope FEMA and the administration continue functioning as expected. > **[Harvey puts Trump's crisis management skills to the test](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41139158.amp)** > > The BBC's Tara McKelvey joined the president as he made a second visit to flood-hit states. > [@](#): > > The president’s stewardship of the government effort gave him a chance to show steady leadership. The system functioned relatively well. It was all the more striking, given the chaos that has characterised the White House since the inauguration. > > For the Trump presidency this has been - strangely enough - a peak moment. He’s overseen a federal government that has rescued people and kept them safe in temporary shelters and he has personally offered a $1m (£772,000) donation to a charity. > > The management of the crisis was a break for his presidency, one that has been characterised not by efficiency but by news about federal investigations, failed legislative efforts and staff shakeups. > > For many people in Texas and Louisiana, though, the palace intrigue was irrelevant. They had more pressing issues and were happy he was there. > > \<\\> > It’s too soon for an in-depth critique of what the authorities did or didn’t do well. But early reports showed that the agencies functioned relatively smoothly and that officials co-ordinated their efforts in a thoughtful way. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387/2 "2017-09-03T10:21:01Z")
So it turns out that appointing people who know and care about their job is a good idea. Who knew? So now we’ve just got to get rid of Trump’s heads of EPA, DoE, FCC, and the Justice Department. Oh, and keep him from appointing a climate change denier and non-scientist to the head of NASA. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387/3 "2017-09-03T13:25:56Z")
Yep, as many have already pointed out, this administration has been such an unmitigated disaster that anything slightly resembling competence will be looked at as a massive win. Mr. Trump, after a bit of struggle, was able to show a bit of statesmanlike behavior that any reasonably empathetic person could have done with hardly a thought. Two cheers for him. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387/4 "2017-09-03T16:22:46Z")
I didn’t know Trump _ **HAD** _ crisis management skills! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387/5 "2017-09-03T16:55:25Z")
I heard someone talking on the radio the other day who’s part of the rescue efforts and they said that Katrina, Sandy and all the other disasters since 2005 have really been helpful in providing all of the organizations more info on ways to improve. So I dunno if I would attribute improvement to Trump or his administration (or Obama and his) but maybe be glad that they didn’t decimate FEMA or abolish the National Guard or something. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387/6 "2017-09-03T18:20:49Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I didn’t know Trump _ **HAD** _ crisis management skills! > [@CNNFAKENEWS](#): > > “We’re signing a lot of documents now to get money, $7.9 billion,” he said, adding that the request would be going through a “hopefully quick process” in Congress. The House could vote on the funding as early as next week. > > The White House announced Saturday that Trump authorized an increase in federal funding for debris removal and emergency protective measures, increasing federal cost-sharing from 75% to 90% for debris removal and to 100% for emergency protective measures for 30 days from the date of the storm’s landfall and 90% thereafter. > **[Trump returns to Gulf Coast for test as ‘comforter in chief’ | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/02/politics/donald-trump-texas-harvey/)** > > President Donald Trump is getting a second chance at the post-natural disaster presidential visit, embracing the role of “comforter in chief” in a multi-stop tour of areas hard-hit by Harvey. So, yeah, he’s certainly managing the hell out of this crisis; at least the part that involves signing a bunch of papers that other people put in front of him.\* \*Yeah, yeah, a lot of management for every President involves signing a bunch of papers and taking credit for it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387/7 "2017-09-03T18:34:51Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > So it turns out that appointing people who know and care about their job is a good idea. Who knew? > > So now we’ve just got to get rid of Trump’s heads of EPA, DoE, FCC, and the Justice Department. Oh, and keep him from appointing a climate change denier and non-scientist to the head of NASA. Exactly. This is how Wikipedia describes Brock Long’s career prior to running FEMA. > [@](#): > > Long was an emergency management official in Georgia, where he served as the Statewide Planner/School Safety Coordinator for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency from September 1999 to November 2001. He worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency as Hurricane Program Manager from November 2001 to January 2006. Long was the Southeast Regional Director for Beck Disaster Recovery from February 2007 to February 2008. > Long headed the Alabama Emergency Management Agency from 2008 to 2011 under Governor Bob Riley and developed the state’s response to the H1N1 influenza. During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, he was the State Incident Commander for the Alabama Unified Command. > In 2011, Long joined the emergency management consulting firm Hagerty Consulting, where he was executive vice president. In short, he had extensive background in emergency management. Long was confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 95 to 4. Meanwhile, Scott Pruitt, head of the EPA, was attorney general of Oklahoma. He dissolved a separate unit of his department that was responsible for environmental protection, fought the federal EPA and took contributions from the energy industry. And he rejects the mainstream view of climate change. He was confirmed by a vote of 52 to 46. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387/8 "2017-09-03T19:07:16Z")
I see (in the news) The President and First Lady are visiting storm damaged parts of Louisiana. [https://www.google.com/amp/abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/wireStory/latest-trump-harvey-profoundly-affected-us-49581666](https://www.google.com/amp/abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/wireStory/latest-trump-harvey-profoundly-affected-us-49581666) Several states have sent help to Texas. Arkansas has sent National Guard units and some of our emergency responders. Arkansas Game & Fish are there helping too. This catastrophe has united everyone in wanting to help. > **[Arkansas National Guard on the ground & in the air to help Harvey victims](https://katv.com/news/local/arkansas-national-guard-on-the-ground-in-the-air-to-help-harvey-victims)** > > Members of the Arkansas National Guard are on the ground and in the air - helping folks in Southeast Texas recover from the effects of Hurricane Harvey.Channel 7 followed them on their mission of delivering supplies to people in need.Much of... > **[Arkansas Game and Fish help assist Texans in Harvey's wake](https://katv.com/news/local/arkansas-game-and-fish-help-assist-texans-in-harveys-wake)** > > Arkansas Game and Fish Commission wildlife officers have answered the call for help in Texas.Arkansas law enforcement officers who are part of Arkansas Task Force 1 are performing rescues and assisting displaced residents in and around... ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvey-puts-trumps-crisis-management-skills-to-the-test/795387/9 "2017-09-03T19:29:03Z")
This is just the very beginning. The real test is a lot further down the road.