Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary to President George W. Bush, criticized President Donald Trump for failing to show empathy during his visit to see the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas.
Following Trump's meeting with first responders in Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Fleischer told Fox News host Molly Line that Trump had not connected to people's suffering.
"I was with President Bush when he went to see the devastation caused by fires in Arizona and tornados in Missouri," Fleischer recalled. "And there was something missing from what President Trump said -- I hope he will say it later today -- but that's the empathy for the people who suffer."
"That, in my opinion, should have been the first thing he should have said," he continued. "That his heart goes out to those people in Houston who are going through this and that the government is here to help them recover from this. And then secondly, the job of the president is to thank those who are the first responders."
Fleischer encouraged Trump to listen to people's stories.
"Talk about somebody by name who did something," he advised. "Talk, of course, about the officer who died of drowning. These are the individual stories that stir us and make us connected as Americans, that when calamity hits, we help one another. That's what a president should talk about. And he should talk about it by name of those who do it."
Editor's Note: The pool report reflects the mood of most reporters present. It was all about Trump.
