| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
| One of the very few places that Americans can still go. | ||
|
unidentified
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C-SPAN has such a distinguished and honorable and important mandate and mission in this country. | |
| I love this show. | ||
| This is my favorite show to do of all shows because I actually get to hear what the American people care about. | ||
| American people have access to their government in ways that they did not before the cable industry provided C-SPAN access. | ||
| That's why I like to come on C-SPAN is because this is one of the last places where people are actually having conversations, even people who disagree. | ||
| Shows that you can have a television network that can try to be objective. | ||
| Thank C-SPAN for all you do. | ||
|
unidentified
|
It's one of the reasons why this program is so valuable because it does bring people together where dissenting voices are heard, where hard questions are asked and where people have to answer to them. | |
| And a very good Tuesday morning to you. | ||
| You can go ahead and start calling in now. | ||
| This is the front page this Tuesday morning from the Dallas Morning News. | ||
| Death toll rises and hopes ebb. | ||
| Over 100 dead and more rain is expected. | ||
| The Dallas Morning News notes this morning. | ||
| It was late yesterday that the President spoke about the Texas floods from the White House and he also talked about his plans for later this week. | ||
| This is what the president had to say. | ||
| Well, we're going to just make it as comfortable as possible for the state of Texas. | ||
| They have a great governor, they have wonderful senators, they have wonderful representatives, and we're going to work together with them. | ||
| And we have been working really, very hard. | ||
| This whole table has been working. | ||
| That was a terrible event. | ||
| Terrible event. | ||
| You saw that maybe where Texas was just absolutely so badly hurt by something that was a big surprise late in the evening. | ||
| So we'll be working with the governor and all of the people of Texas. | ||
| We'll be going on Friday. | ||
| President Trump yesterday from the White House making those comments after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. | ||
| We'll talk more about that meeting a little later in our program today. | ||
| You're seeing some of the footage from those floods happening over the weekend starting on Friday and some of that footage from Saturday on your screen. | ||
| Also back here in Washington yesterday, it was Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, calling for a probe of the National Weather Service in response to what happened during the tragedy. | ||
| This is the story from Reuters asking the government's top watchdog to investigate whether cuts at the National Weather Service affected the forecasting agency's response to the catastrophic and deadly flooding. | ||
| The story noting that Chuck Schumer asked the Commerce Department's acting inspector general on Monday to probe staffing vacancies specifically at the National Weather Service's San Antonio office and asking whether that contributed to delays, gaps, or diminished accuracy in forecasting the flooding. | ||
| It's the letter that Chuck Schumer sent to the acting inspector general that said in part that key forecasting and coordinating positions at the National Weather Service's offices responsible for this region, including San Antonio and San Angelo, were vacant at the time of the storm. | ||
| The roles left unfilled are not marginal. | ||
| They are critical. | ||
| These are the experts responsible for modeling storm impacts and monitoring rising water levels, issuing flood warnings and coordinating directly with local emergency managers about when to warn the public and issue evacuation orders. | ||
| To put it plainly, they help save lives. | ||
| That was the letter from Chuck Schumer yesterday to the Commerce Department. | ||
| This topic coming up in the White House briefing room yesterday. | ||
| Caroline Levitt, the press secretary, taking questions from reporters. | ||
| This is what she had to say. | ||
|
unidentified
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Is President Trump reconsidering his plan to phase out FEMA given what officials have said is their critical role on the ground now in Texas? | |
| Look, the president wants to ensure American citizens always have what they need during times of need. | ||
| Whether that assistance comes from states or the federal government, that's a policy discussion that will continue. | ||
| And the president has always said he wants states to do as much as they can, if not more. | ||
| And in the state, in the case of Texas, the state and local officials are doing a tremendous job. | ||
| And I know the president, Secretary Noam, and the federal government are very proud to be working with them. | ||
| And the president has promised to give Texas the assistance that they need during this tragic time. | ||
|
unidentified
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Just one follow-up on cuts overall. | |
| Over the weekend, President Trump said that Elon Musk was a train wreck. | ||
| Are there, given this current viewpoint, are there concerns within the White House or from the President himself over the cuts that happened under Musk while he was advising Doge, including the National Weather Service? | ||
| I think I've already addressed that, Kristen. | ||
| And what I can tell you is that these offices were fully staffed. | ||
| The San Angelo office was fully staffed with 12 forecast meteorologists. | ||
| There were no vacancies. | ||
| The San Antonio office was operating with 11 forecasters. | ||
| And as Brian said, the union themselves said that there was adequate staffing. | ||
| So I think those words speak for themselves, and the numbers speak for themselves. | ||
| This was a once-in-a-century flash flood, a tragic natural disaster, and the administration is doing all that we can on the ground to help these families during this time of need. | ||
| Check. | ||
| Caroline Levitt yesterday from the White House briefing room calling it a tragic national disaster. | ||
| It's now listed among America's worst floods. | ||
| A wrap-up of some of the numbers from the Washington Times this morning. | ||
| This Texas July flood with now over 100 fatalities and that number expected to rise. | ||
| Hurricane Helene from 2024, the storm that left so many towns in North Carolina devastated with 108 deaths. | ||
| Other storms listed as causing major flooding throughout the years. | ||
| You can go back to Superstorm Sandy that struck in October of 2012, killing 147 people, 72 in several cities around the country, 110 deaths there attributed to drowning. | ||
| Hurricane Ike back in 2008, causing some $29 billion in damage, responsible for more than 100 deaths, many of them caused by flooding. | ||
| And then, of course, Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, the costliest storm in U.S. history, caused nearly 1,400 deaths and estimated $200 billion in damages. | ||
| Some of the numbers from the Washington Times there. | ||
| We're getting your response, your thoughts on the historic flooding in Texas and a special line for Texas residents, 202748-8000, setting that aside for you to call in. | ||
| Also, a line for those who have experience with natural disasters, particularly flash flooding, 202748-8001 is that number. | ||
| All others, 202-748-8002. | ||
| We'll begin in Connecticut. | ||
| It's Cindy in Norwalk. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| Good morning. | ||
| First, just a couple things, but I wanted to just offer my condolences to the families who lost children and family. | ||
| It's really just such a horrible thing, which should have been a happy time. | ||
| That being said, I know there's been a lot of talk about the cuts. | ||
| As Caroline Levitt said there, there were extra people on duty because of this event 4th of July weekend and all the campers. | ||
| I've heard a lot of horrible things from the left that these people deserved it because they were Trump voters. | ||
| I think that this has to stop. | ||
| Chuck Schumer wants to investigate the Weather Service. | ||
| I just want to just beseech you people that didn't these things happen under other presidents. | ||
| Let's take Lahaina. | ||
| They had the most advanced alarm system in the country, tsunami and wildfires. | ||
| But what good is an advanced system if the officials don't sound the alarm, which did not happen in Lahaina, I'd like to point out. | ||
| No one set off the alarms for that fire. | ||
| So, you know, money doesn't buy competence. | ||
| The cuts have not gone into effect yet. | ||
| So this panic, the response in North Carolina, nobody blamed Joe Biden for what happened with Hurricane Helene. | ||
| But the response is really what matters with regards to the president. | ||
| It's the response is everything. | ||
| And I just want to mention one thing. | ||
| Maybe Chuck Schumer could investigate the cloud seeding companies that cloud seed, namely Rainmaker, who is cloud seeding on July 2nd. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Have a great day. | ||
| Cindy in Connecticut. | ||
| This is Mike in Arlington, Virginia. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| You are next. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| Good morning. | ||
| Listen, I am so mystified. | ||
| Everyone is doing finger pointing at whose fault is this, whose fault is that. | ||
| And not one media outlet is mentioning climate change. | ||
| The climate change problem is responsible for this tragedy. | ||
| Warmer air in the clouds holds more moisture. | ||
| The warmer air comes from fossil fuel industries that are heating up our planet. | ||
| And each degree, one degree temperature rise holds 13% more, about 13% more water in the clouds. | ||
| The second point is that the jet streams are slowing down because of climate change, and they don't push along these fronts. | ||
| They allow them to linger over places, over cities and camps like Camp Mystic. | ||
| Yes, this is a terrible tragedy. | ||
| But the real reason that this is happening is it's climate change. | ||
| It's not President Biden. | ||
| It's not President Trump. | ||
| It's not the National Weather Service. | ||
| It is climate change. | ||
| And we are going to continue to have these kinds of tragedies develop because we are ignoring. | ||
| And the media, not one media outlet, ABC, CBS, they all talk about this problem of climate change that has created this terrible, terrible tragedy. | ||
| That's all I have to say. | ||
| It's Mike in Arlington, Virginia. | ||
| There have been a few media outlets that have talked about it, including some that have pointed to the release from the Union of Concerned Scientists, that group of scientists, that union of scientists that often puts out statements in various weather situations and other scientific situations. | ||
| They put out a statement in response to the floods in Texas saying that several of the issues here were made worse by climate change. | ||
| Their statement saying that climate change is increasing the risk of these types of extreme precipitation events. | ||
| For example, there have been clear increases in higher rainfall intensity events for nearby Austin, Texas. | ||
| According to the fifth National Climate Assessment, the Texas region has experienced some 21% increase in total precipitation in the heaviest rainfall days since the 1950s, pointing to several different factors to keep in mind throughout this tragedy. | ||
| The letter from the Union of Conservative Scientists, UCS.org, is there if you want to read it. | ||
| This is Alex in Brooklyn, New York. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| You are next. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, sir. | |
| Good morning. | ||
| Yeah, I mean, I live in New York City. | ||
| We actually just had a flood warning this morning. | ||
| There's just flash floods around here. | ||
| But I just want to go back to the last two callers. | ||
| The last caller is absolutely right. | ||
| I call this program all the time. | ||
| And it's ironic that people that are saying that climate change and global warming is a hoax now become agitated because the left reminds them of the fact that, you know, people on the right think that this is a hoax. | ||
| It's not. | ||
| You know, the UN has put out a report. | ||
| There's a complete scientific community backed up by thousands of scientists that said that we have to maintain global warming at no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. | ||
| We have surpassed that already. | ||
| We are beginning to see the effects of what is to come. | ||
| And people yet celebrate the fact that this idiot of a president is saying that we're going to leash American energy. | ||
| You're talking about fossils here. | ||
| You're talking about energy that comes from dead animals and lived here millions of years ago when we have technology to surpass that. | ||
| So you are going to see more of this. | ||
| It's going to intensify. | ||
| And no matter how ignorant you are about the situation, it's going to get worse. | ||
| I feel for the people of Texas, but when you have a president that is cutting back on agencies that are supposed to have warning systems for this, now everybody wants to say, well, you have even people, there's a woman in Georgia running for Congress that said that this was a hoax, that this was a lie. | ||
| You have Marjorie Taylor Greene putting out a bill saying that she wants to prevent chemtrails and all kinds of stuff in the clouds. | ||
| I mean, this is how idiotic these people are. | ||
| It's happening because we are warming the planet up. | ||
| It's that simple. | ||
| So, you know, I don't know what else to say. | ||
| That's Alex in Brooklyn, New York. | ||
| Phone numbers again. | ||
| If you are a Texas resident, a social phone line for you: 202-748-8000. | ||
| If you have experience with natural disasters, especially flash flooding, 202-748-8001. | ||
| All others, 202748-8002. | ||
| Let me take you to Texas yesterday. | ||
| Senator Ted Cruz speaking to reporters concerned about the politicization of a natural disaster and tragedy. | ||
| This is what he had to say. | ||
| I will say, in the wake of every tragedy, there are things that are predictable. | ||
| One of the things that's predictable is that you see some people engaging in, I think, partisan games and trying to blame their political opponents for a natural disaster. | ||
| And you see that with a hurricane, with a tornado, with a wildfire, with this flooding, where people immediately say, well, the hurricane is Donald Trump's fault. | ||
| You know, look, that I think most normal Americans know that's ridiculous. | ||
| And I think this is not a time for partisan finger-pointing and attacks. | ||
| Now, after we come through search and rescue, after we come through the process of rebuilding, there will naturally be a period of retrospection where you look back and say, okay, what exactly transpired? | ||
| What was the timeline? | ||
| And what could have been done differently to prevent this loss of life? | ||
| And that's a natural process. | ||
| I think it should not happen in a bitter and partisan sense, but it should happen in a reasonable sense of saying, what lessons can we learn? | ||
| Texas Senator Ted Cruz yesterday taking your phone calls this morning. | ||
| Again, the latest numbers, the death toll overnight rising to over 100 and dozens still missing after those deadly Texas floods. | ||
| This is James in Houston. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thanks for having me. | |
| Just a couple of things. | ||
| First, I can't imagine watching all of this unfold on TV while living in Connecticut, while living in New York and living in Georgia, wherever, and really understand the scope of the, I guess, the event because you really have to live in Texas to know what it's like to, I guess, | ||
| deal with the tragedy with such a in such a large geographic area. | ||
| Texas is so different than Connecticut. | ||
| And it's, or New Jersey, New York. | ||
| Things happen fast, and things are so large that you can't point the finger at, you know, there weren't any sirens, there weren't any early warning systems. | ||
| I turn mic off on my phone because it goes off all the time. | ||
| So it's not the weather service's fault, and it's not climate change. | ||
| This climate change stuff, the world has been heating and cooling for a billion years. | ||
| It's a cycle, right? | ||
| You learn it in science class. | ||
| It's a cycle. | ||
| And it was doing it before humans were here. | ||
| So we're not the ones causing it. | ||
| The Earth does it as a cycle. | ||
| And we can't turn it off by using less fossil fuels or going all electric. | ||
| So people need to, I guess, do some basic science research before they start blaming people for all the global warming and fossil fuel usage. | ||
| You know, natural disasters happen, and there's no way to stop them. | ||
| So I just think people just need to back off of all the finger pointing and trying to figure out how they can, you know, I guess use a tragedy to their advantage from a political standpoint. | ||
| It's James in Texas to that line for those who have had experience with natural disasters. | ||
| This is Ted in Mooresville, North Carolina. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah, good morning, John. | |
| Thanks for taking my call. | ||
| The flood in Asheville looked very similar to what happens, what recently happened in Texas. | ||
| How far is Mooresville from Asheville, Ted? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I'm sorry. | |
| How far is Mooresville from Asheville? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Mooresville is approximately 30 miles north of Charlotte, which is in less of an area that's flood-prone, thank goodness. | |
| I was waist deep in water in our townhouse living room. | ||
| And Ted, go ahead and talk through what happened to you and these questions about early warning systems and weather service. | ||
| What does it bring up for you a year later? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, actually, when I saw on your screen that Samaritan's Purse was heading to Texas to help the recovery efforts, they helped us directly in our townhouse after we were flooded in Asheville. | |
| I don't know what we would have done without that group of people. | ||
| I'm very grateful to them for helping us. | ||
| We were without power, without water, without phone service for approximately two to three weeks after the event. | ||
| And so to watch it on TV, it brings back a lot of memory. | ||
| Ted, did you have any interaction with FEMA? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, I did. | |
| As a matter of fact, people gave us the impression after the event that FEMA was not available. | ||
| We received $30,000 immediately within a few weeks after the event, and we were very grateful for that as we were completely in shock and had no idea what we were going to do next. | ||
| But thank goodness to FEMA, Samaritan's Purse, the local police, and everybody who came together, especially around our neighborhood. | ||
| We had a lot of neighbors that helped clean things up. | ||
| And Ted, just take me through what happened that night for you. | ||
| You left it at waist deep in water. | ||
|
unidentified
|
We had 14 inches of rainfall within about two to three days, approximately 30 inches of rainfall on the hills around us. | |
| And what was a small creek I'm watching on television, it turned into what it looks like on your screen right now. | ||
| It was a rushing river. | ||
| It ended up coming directly through our living room. | ||
| I was waist deep in toxic water, and everything we had inside our home was lost. | ||
| But you have to actually, I think, live through a flood to understand how severe it is. | ||
| And thank goodness we survived. | ||
| And thank goodness we had the financial means to pick up and relocate to Mooresville. | ||
| Ted, thanks for the phone call from Mooresville. | ||
| You mentioned those agencies and groups that are looking to help out the USA Today with a wrap-up of some of those agencies and groups. | ||
| The Red Cross, of course, opening shelters and relief centers in Kerk County. | ||
| The World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit founded by Chef Jose Andres, setting up shop on July 4th quickly in Texas, the organization providing food to those in the area. | ||
| The Kerk County Relief Fund is another one they mentioned. | ||
| The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has started a Hill Country, a Kirk County flood relief fund, providing aid to various vetted organizations, those looking to help the pets in the area. | ||
| Austin Pets Alive is one that's mentioned. | ||
| The Salvation Army mentioned as well. | ||
| Taking your phone calls this morning, again, that line for Texas residents, 202-748-8000. | ||
| If you have experience with natural disasters, especially flash floods, 202-748-8001. | ||
| All others, 202-748-8002. | ||
| This is Helen in Kentucky. | ||
| It's Campbellsville, Kentucky. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| I have been listening and watching all of this disaster, you know, that has happened, and it has broken my heart. | ||
| I have never had to endure a disaster like this. | ||
| But you know, I watch a lot of C-SPAN and I watch a lot of our governmental sessions as they're happening. | ||
| And I noticed how people are at each other's throats. | ||
| But when a disaster like this happens, you've got these things cross all political parties and everybody has to come together to come to the aid of one another. | ||
| So why is it so hard for our politicians when they're having their sessions to work together and understand that we are here one for the other? | ||
| And I think I saw on TV the other day where three of our weather satellites was defunded, so they were turned off. | ||
| I don't understand how that's going to be helpful turning off weather satellites when something like this happens. | ||
| And now everybody wants to point fingers and say, well, this one was responsible or that one was responsible. | ||
| Seems to me we would need all devices that we could get to help us to forecast and to look back and see what happened so that we can prevent these things from happening again, John. | ||
| Helen, you might be interested in Mary Ann Tierney's column in today's New York Times. | ||
| She's the former acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and acting deputy administrator of FEMA. | ||
| She worked in emergency management for some 25 years. | ||
| This is what she writes in her column today. | ||
| When a flash flood inundates your town or a wildfire devours your neighborhood, you expect the federal government to show up fast, focused, and fully mobilized. | ||
| That expectation underpins our natural resilience. | ||
| But today, that system is cracking. | ||
| The help Americans rely on in their darkest hours is in danger of arriving late, underpowered, or not at all. | ||
| She said, I've spent over 25 years responding to disasters. | ||
| I know what it looks like when government rises to the moment. | ||
| And I know the warning signs when it's about to fall short. | ||
| And those signs are flashing right now. | ||
| Since January, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which helps people before, during, and after disasters, has lost more than 20% of its permanent staff, its most experienced field-ready responders. | ||
| Thousands of temporary employees remain on the job, but their contracts are running out. | ||
| These are people trained to work with disaster survivors. | ||
| FEMA cannot replace them or bring in new talent because of hiring restrictions. | ||
| Local hires, who are once a flexible community-based option, now require many slow approvals. | ||
| And FEMA Corps, which was meant to be a pipeline for young Americans trained to support response and recovery efforts, has been defunded. | ||
| Contracts for evacuation, logistics shelter operations, and flood insurance agents have been allowed to expire. | ||
| She says, compounding the crisis is a growing culture of fear and paralysis. | ||
| FEMA staff members, as well as other federal workers, now hesitate to make basic decisions, worried that they'll be punished for acting without clearance. | ||
| Those on the staff are told to stay in their lanes even when their work demands flexibility and urgency. | ||
| Mr. Trump, she writes, recently announced his intention to phase out FEMA after the 2025 hurricane season and shift long-term recovery responsibilities to states or other parts of the federal government. | ||
| That may appeal to those who want a smaller federal footprint, she says, but the reality is that states are not ready to absorb the role. | ||
| And that's the heart of the problem. | ||
| This isn't a thoughtful rebalancing of responsibilities. | ||
| Critical government tasks are being dumped on state and local partners who are without the staffing, funding, and infrastructure to succeed. | ||
| Yes, we do need to modernize, but recovery isn't a handoff, it's a partnership. | ||
| Mary Ann Tierney in the New York Times today, again, former acting deputy administrator at FEMA 25 years in disaster response and recovery. | ||
| If you want to read more, the New York Times is where to go. | ||
| This is Brett out of Des Moines. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| You are next. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning, John. | |
| I hope you're having a good morning. | ||
| We're all praying for Texas. | ||
| I remember the floods in 93, and we had plenty of time and didn't know it was all coming. | ||
| So God bless USA and work with our president. | ||
| He's not perfect, but neither was the other one. | ||
| God bless you. | ||
| Thank you, John. | ||
| Brett, remind me about the floods in 93. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Oh, I worked at a little place called Walnut Creek Inn, and it's still going on. | |
| I've been there for a long time now, but I've had to bring water home to my house because the water even shut down. | ||
| You know, well, we thought that was horrible, but this is like 10 times worse. | ||
| But if you look around the world, it's been getting that way for a long time. | ||
| It's not so much climate change as much as it's our world, who we are in those times, and Jesus loves you all. | ||
| That's Brett out of Des Moines, Iowa. | ||
| This is Jim Decatur, Illinois. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| You are next. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning, Mr. McCarl. | |
| I got a suggestion of an idea of something it could be. | ||
| Last year, there were 1,700 space launches. | ||
| This year, we're scheduled to go 2,000 space launches. | ||
| I believe that that is affecting the upper atmosphere and causing this weather change. | ||
| It's not just in Texas. | ||
| Illinois has been crazy lately hot. | ||
| And it's just a thought, but I don't know. | ||
| That's all I got, John. | ||
| It's Jim in Illinois. | ||
| This is John in Connecticut. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning, John. | |
| Go ahead, John. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| Yeah, we're all praying for the people in Texas, the one that lost loved ones. | ||
| Yeah, this is another tragedy. | ||
| And I listened to your program since it started this morning, and the finger pointing's got to stop. | ||
| It really does. | ||
| That's the worst of what I'm hearing right now. | ||
| No one has said anything about when the tragedy in East Palestine, Ohio, when it took former President Biden over a year to get there. | ||
| Let's not do this. | ||
| Let's just concentrate on what's happening in Texas, save these people, help these people. | ||
| Yeah, there's a lot to be done in this country. | ||
| Let's all work together and try and get it done instead of pointing fingers. | ||
| Mr. Schumer shouldn't be doing that because that's just adding fuel to the fire. | ||
| I'm sorry. | ||
| I just hate this politics of our country right now in my life. | ||
| I never experienced anything so awful right now when it comes to politics in our country right now. | ||
| It's very disturbing. | ||
| People got to come together. | ||
| That's all I have to say, John. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| John, before you go, when was the last time people came together? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I wish I could answer that, sir. | |
| I really do. | ||
| I wish we could come together and show unity throughout this country as a body. | ||
| We're all Americans, John. | ||
| You're an American. | ||
| I'm American. | ||
| We all live in the same space, just different states, whatever. | ||
| John, no natural disaster is apples to apples, but we had flooding in flooding in Asheville, North Carolina last year. | ||
| Did people come together after those floods? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, well, they did. | |
| They helped each other. | ||
| The people of North Carolina and from outside of North Carolina came together to help each other. | ||
| I mean, the worst disaster I've ever experienced here in Connecticut was we had close to three feet of snow and we couldn't move and get out of our doorways. | ||
| But we made it. | ||
| But we had great neighbors, younger neighbors, because I'm 73, helping us out get out of our driveways and get our cars cleared. | ||
| So I'm thankful for that. | ||
| And I see it right now on the screen where the Cajun Navy is down there helping out these people from Texas and all over. | ||
| There's a lot of good things going on right now in Texas by people that coming from all spots of the country helping out. | ||
| And I'm proud of our America right now, the way we're sticking together at times. | ||
| And there are bad times. | ||
| We all know that. | ||
| But I'm very proud of America right now. | ||
| That's John in Connecticut this morning. | ||
| This is Michael Ramirez, his editorial cartoon in today's Washington Post, simply America mourns in memoriam of the Texas flood victims. | ||
| 202-748-8000, if you're in Texas, to call in 202-748-8001 if you have experience with natural disasters, especially flash floods, and 202748-8002 for all others. | ||
| Go ahead and keep calling in as you're calling in. | ||
| It's just after 7:30 on the East Coast. | ||
| Did want to keep you updated on a few of the other stories that we're going to be talking about on today's Washington Journal, including this one: tariffs back on the front burner. | ||
| It's the lead story in today's Washington Post. | ||
| President Donald Trump yesterday threatened tariffs of between 25% and 40% on imports from some 14 different countries, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Bangladesh, saying that negotiations are continuing on trade deals ahead of a new August 1st deadline for the implementation of tariffs. | ||
| It was yesterday, also after that meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu on issues on the Middle East peace process, that President Trump was also asked about the tariffs. | ||
| This is what he had to say. | ||
| We've already taken in over $100 million worth of tariffs, and we haven't even started. | ||
| And all I say to the other countries is: you know, some of them wanted to make a deal and wanted to be fair. | ||
| Others perhaps got a little bit spoiled. | ||
| They were a little bit spoiled because for 30, 40 years, 50 years, they were taking advantage of the country. | ||
| So we're going to, I would say, final, but if they call with a different offer and if I like it, we'll do it. | ||
|
unidentified
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And the audience we're going to offer. | |
| The audience within my firm now? | ||
| Is that it? | ||
| I would say firm. | ||
| No, I would say firm, but not 100% firm. | ||
| If they call up and they say would like to do something a different way, we're going to be open to that. | ||
| But essentially, that's the way it is right now. | ||
| President Trump, yesterday on tariffs, we're going to talk more about that in the 8 a.m. Eastern Hour. | ||
| Daniel DeRocher of Politico, their international trade reporter, joining us for that discussion and taking your calls as well. | ||
| But for this first segment of the Washington Journal, we're focusing on that tragedy in central Texas, the death toll from the flooding there, tops 100 dozens still missing, and getting your reaction on special lines this morning. | ||
| If you're a Texas resident, 202-748-8000. | ||
| If you have experience with natural disasters, 202-748-8001. | ||
| We want to hear your stories. | ||
| All others, 202-748-8002. | ||
| Jacqueline out of Philadelphia. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| You are next. | ||
|
unidentified
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Hi, I'm a retired kindergarten teacher, and there's no way we would have gone to bed that night. | |
| The radios would have been on. | ||
| That would have been part of a rehearsal. | ||
| No way. | ||
| And it's too late now. | ||
| Everyone wants to say, well, this is what you should have done. | ||
| You know, I'm very upset over. | ||
| There should have been rehearsals, fire drills. | ||
| You're talking particularly at that camp? | ||
|
unidentified
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Any camp, really. | |
| Any camp, that's what we would have done. | ||
| That would have been something that I would have been required to do. | ||
| Rehearsals. | ||
| There's no way I would have gone to bed that night listening to the radio and hearing that was a flood prune in the area. | ||
| No way. | ||
| I would have been out of there. | ||
| But that's me. | ||
| That's Jaclyn in Philadelphia this morning. | ||
| This is the message posted on Camp Mystic's website that Camp for Girls, where so much of the tragedy hit over the weekend. | ||
| Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding of the Guadalupe River. | ||
| Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. | ||
| We are praying for them constantly. | ||
| We have been in communication with local state authorities who are trying tirelessly to deploy extensive resources to search for our missing girls. | ||
| We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from our community, first responders and officials at every level asking for continued prayers and respect and privacy for each of the families affected, saying, May the Lord continue to wrap his presence around all of us. | ||
| The posting on Camp Mystic's website. | ||
| It's Axius who has been noting some of the identities of those who have died in the tragedy, including, they note, Lenny McCowan. | ||
| Eight-year-old Linny was from Austin where she attended Cassis Elementary School. | ||
| Lenny's father, Michael McCowan, told the Houston Chronicle that his daughter was a bubbly, spunky, and amazing big sister to her younger brother, George, and an amazing younger sister to her older brother, Bates. | ||
| And Margaret Bellows, her family confirmed to the Houston Chronicle that the eight-year-old died at the floods at Camp Mystic. | ||
| She was from Houston. | ||
| Mary Stevens, eight-year-old Mary, was a Camp Mystic camper that her mother described as full of joy. | ||
| Our world is shattered, but I have peace getting your letters and knowing you were having the time of your life at camp and had a dance party with all your friends before the Lord decided to take you. | ||
| That was her mother, Stacey Stevens, writing in a social media post that was noted by the Austin American statesman. | ||
| Renee Smashdrarla, a nine-year-old, was identified by her uncle as one of the Camp Mystic attendees who went missing and whose body has since been recovered. | ||
| We're thankful that she was with her friends and having the time of her life. | ||
| As evidenced by the pictures from yesterday, she will be forever living her best life at Camp Mystic, said the posting on Facebook. | ||
| And Sarah Marsh, the eight-year-old Mountain Brook, Alabama girl, was attending Camp Mystic per the city's mayor. | ||
| Quote, this is an unimaginable tragedy for her family, her school, and our entire community. | ||
| Sarah's passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her. | ||
| And the stories go on from there. | ||
| Axius noting some of those names and stories. | ||
| This is Lynn in Rome, New York. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
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Good morning, John. | |
| Last year, when North Carolina got hit real bad, didn't Maggie Taylor Greene say that the Democrats had a machine that could control the weather? | ||
| And that when the Republicans got into office, they were going to take over that machine and we weren't going to have any more big storms like we did. | ||
| Lynn, where do you remember hearing that? | ||
| I remember seeing her post on Axe. | ||
| It said, and yes, the Democrats can control the weather. | ||
| The ignorance of this country is what's killing us. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| That's Lynn in New York. | ||
| This is Steve out of Des Moines. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hi, John. | |
| First time caller. | ||
| I heard the other caller from Des Moines. | ||
| During the flood in 93, we got inundated. | ||
| The Des Moines River and the Raccoon River overflooded the water treatment plant. | ||
| We lost drinking water, couldn't take showers. | ||
| Anheuser-Busch out of St. Louis, we had they were bringing in trucking and water. | ||
| So I just wanted to call. | ||
| We had a sailorville reservoir that went over the spillway and just caused great damage to the power infrastructure and everything in Des Moines. | ||
| Steve, do you remember the federal government response to that or the state government response? | ||
| And what do you remember about warnings and ability to communicate back in 93 before we had cell phones to be able to warn us? | ||
|
unidentified
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It was nothing. | |
| They never thought that the Spillway would ever experience anything of that magnitude. | ||
| When that water went over the dam at the Sailorville Dam, there was federal response. | ||
| George Bush, I think, was the president, or I can't remember, back in 93. | ||
| They were flying over. | ||
| We had just tons of people coming in. | ||
| But like I said, it was a city of over 150,000 people that lost their drinking water. | ||
| We weren't able to shower. | ||
| Everyone just, the water treatment plant was contaminated. | ||
| And Steve, I think it would have been Bill Clinton back in 93. | ||
|
unidentified
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Okay, that's who it was. | |
| And I believe there was a response by the federal government, too, because a lot of houses were flooded. | ||
| I think it was the first time ever in history that a town the size of Des Moines lost its water, drinking water, and then Anheuser-Busch had to bring it in. | ||
| So it's tragedy. | ||
| But like I said, all these floods and everything, first-time callers. | ||
| So it's just, and when you can't take showers and you lose your water, I mean, that's, and luckily for Anheuser-Busch, people still have cans where it came in. | ||
| They stopped making beer and started producing water. | ||
| So shout out to Anheuser-Busch. | ||
| Steve, sounds like you'll always appreciate what they did for you. | ||
|
unidentified
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Oh, absolutely. | |
| Yeah, without that water and we need water to live. | ||
| And Anheuser-Busch stepped up. | ||
| And like I said, this bottled water, I think they were probably the first ones that they stopped production of beer and bought in tons of water in cans. | ||
| So Steve, thanks for like I said, on these pictures, the worst thing about natural disasters, tornadoes, stuff like that, if you have never been seen it, I mean, just one glimpse of the TV just doesn't, if you've never been there and until you see it, like I've been through tornadoes, what you see on TV and then when you're actually there on the scene of a tornado, it's horrible. | ||
| Steve, thanks for sharing your memories out of Des Moines. | ||
| This is Lisa, Texas resident. | ||
|
unidentified
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Good morning. | |
| Lisa, you with us? | ||
| One more try for Lisa, then we will go to Paul in Palm Desert, California. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| Go ahead, Paul. | ||
|
unidentified
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I think it's pretty sad that these people in Texas were left there like sitting ducks to fend for themselves. | |
| I think it's reasonable that somebody in charge, some authority, should have issued an evacuation order at some point when they could have predicted that things were going to get worse. | ||
| That's what happens when they have fires. | ||
| The sheriffs or whoever in charge goes door to door. | ||
| They say it's time to go. | ||
| And if you don't go, you're on your own. | ||
| Was that ever done? | ||
| I don't believe it was. | ||
| That's Paul in California. | ||
| This is Kathleen in Illinois. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| How are you doing? | ||
| I'm doing well. | ||
| Go ahead. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Okay. | |
| First of all, my condolences go out to the family of the missing and the ones that have perished in this awful catastrophe. | ||
| But I'm here to say I just saw you play a clip of Ted Cruz saying, this is not the time to be pointing fingers. | ||
| You're right. | ||
| It's not the time. | ||
| But pull up, just like you did. | ||
| His thing. | ||
| Who stopped pointing fingers about this catastrophe a couple of days ago when either he was getting on the plane to go golf or to get off the plane to do whatever he was doing? | ||
| A reporter asked Donald Trump about this. | ||
| What's the first thing that came out of Donald Trump's mouth? | ||
| This is a Biden setup. | ||
| Why would he do that? | ||
| Biden is not in office. | ||
| Trump is in office. | ||
| Republicans are very hypocritical. | ||
| When catastrophes like this happen, on their watch, don't talk about it. | ||
| It's too soon. | ||
| That's like with the shootings. | ||
| But if a Democrat is in office, they jump on it right away. | ||
| It's wrong. | ||
| These are people that have lost their lives. | ||
| We should all come together. | ||
| But Terry Cruz should go talk to his boss and tell him it starts at the top. | ||
| He should have never came out. | ||
| Biden didn't do this. | ||
| Biden didn't do this. | ||
| This is not up under Biden's watch. | ||
| Biden didn't take away funds. | ||
| It's on hand now. | ||
| Listen to him. | ||
| That's Kathleen in Illinois. | ||
| This is Bob in Franklin, Indiana. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| You are next. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, good morning. | |
| I'm a conservative Republican, and I'm just so saddened. | ||
| There's a scripture in the Bible, and I try to apply that to my life each and every day. | ||
| But it says that when the wicked rule, the people mourn. | ||
| And it seems like every day there's more nasty going on. | ||
| And it's not that the cuts are conservative. | ||
| It's we're spending less on good programs and spending more on just nasty programs. | ||
| And every day it's just more nasty going on all the time. | ||
| Bob, what's that? | ||
| What's a nasty program? | ||
| What's a good program? | ||
|
unidentified
|
A good program would be something that protects people from natural disasters. | |
| Why would you want to cut those and then turn around and spend money on trying to throw people, good people, out of the country? | ||
| You know, and just being nasty to our allies, you know, taxing the poor people through these tariffs. | ||
| You know, it's just every day, it's more nasty going on. | ||
| Bob, sounds like you disagree with several of Donald Trump's initiatives. | ||
| Did you vote for him? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I voted for him once, and I have voted Republican all my life. | |
| I couldn't vote for him the first time. | ||
| The second time was an ignorant vote, but I couldn't vote for him this last time. | ||
| I can't vote for Vile. | ||
| My Bible tells me that I'm not to support a vile person. | ||
| And I cannot support someone that violates the Constitution. | ||
| Every day, I pledge allegiance to the flag and to the Republic, which is a constitutional republic. | ||
| I can't vote for someone that doesn't stand up for a Constitution, and I cannot vote for someone that is just plain vile. | ||
| And I'm sorry to say that. | ||
| It's sad because the Grando Party is just not being very grand these days. | ||
| I hope someday we get back to being grand. | ||
| That's Franklin, Indiana. | ||
| That's Bob. | ||
| The caller, Lisa, is back on the line in Texas. | ||
| Lisa, are you there? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, good morning. | |
| I just have a couple of comments. | ||
| I just found out yesterday that there were some people that I worked for that died in this storm. | ||
| I think what bothers me the most is that, can you hear me okay? | ||
| Yes, ma'am. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Okay, I'm sorry. | |
| What bothers me the most is that people want to sit in here, sit on here and on social media, of course, and they want to politicize this when this shouldn't be. | ||
| I want to 30 years ago, people wouldn't have had the opportunity to be on Facebook or wherever or on here even blaming Trump, blaming the government, blaming our meteorologists that when the meteorologists did put the warnings out, I want to ask people: where is your empathy? | ||
| If you're a Christian, especially, where is your empathy? | ||
| Why are you doing this when we still have family members missing? | ||
| The meteorologists were fully staffed that night and warnings went out. | ||
| And I'm sure that after this is all over and they can find the missing, maybe they will look into this and try to do some, instead of being reactive, maybe be proactive. | ||
| But I just don't think right now it's doing people any good to bitch and complain about what Trump did. | ||
| I don't care what side of the party you're on. | ||
| We don't need to hear that right now. | ||
| We need to be praying for these families. | ||
| These families, I feel sorry for them. | ||
| They can see all these people on here attacking Trump or whoever. | ||
| It does not matter. | ||
| We need prayers. | ||
| And I can tell you, we're going to need more help down here on the ground, just like North Carolina did with the recovery process and rebuilding. | ||
| But I just wish people would ask themselves, you know, in other words, chew your words before you spit them out. | ||
| And please think about these families. | ||
| Thank you for letting me bend a little bit this morning. | ||
| Lisa, how far are you from where the floods occurred? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, I live on the coast of Texas. | |
| So, you know, we've been through hurricanes, but I'm probably about three hours from Kerrville. | ||
| But it's just the fact that I found out that, and even my boss, he's got some friends that are missing. | ||
| And it's just terrible. | ||
| Lisa, very sorry for your loss. | ||
| This is Carl in Washington, Pennsylvania. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| You're next. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning, sir. | |
| This is Donald Trump's Katrina. | ||
| People need to remember that while little children were dying and drowning in this flood, the chief executive was playing golf all day. | ||
| Then he turns around and blames Biden. | ||
| Biden hasn't been in prison since January 20th, 2025. | ||
| Is he not responsible for anything? | ||
| That's my question. | ||
| Is he responsible for anything? | ||
| He takes responsibility for no one and nothing. | ||
| And he's going to shop on Friday more thoughts and prayers like we have at these regular shootings across the country. | ||
| They don't do much good, apparently. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| That's Carl in Washington, Pennsylvania. | ||
| Less than 10 minutes left in this first segment of the Washington Journal this morning, getting your reaction to those deadly Texas floods. |