ICYMI: Sen. Cruz Visits Displaced Texans and First Responders at George R. Brown Convention Center

HOUSTON, Texas – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today visited with Houstonians displaced by the impacts of Tropical Storm Harvey at the George R. Brown Convention Center. During his visit, Sen. Cruz spoke with anchors and correspondents on Fox News’ ‘Outnumbered,’ CNBC’s ‘Halftime Report,’ and MSNBC’s ‘Live With Katy Tur.’ 

Still photos of Sen. Cruz’s visit may be viewed here. 

On Fox News, Sen. Cruz urged those in harm’s way to stay safe and avoid all high water areas. He also thanked first responders:

“This is an incredibly challenging time for my hometown of Houston and the entire state,” Sen. Cruz said. “A lot of people are hurting. Let me say first of all, to those of you who are still in harm's way, if water is rising, I would advise you to stay safe. Get to save ground, get to high ground, if water is rising. Do not go up in your attic unless you have an ax or other equipment to get to the roof. One of the most dangerous things you can do is be trapped in your attic with no way to get out. And let me say also don’t drive unless it’s absolutely necessary. The most frequent cause of loss of life is people in cars thinking they can make it through water and getting carried away from swift water. Don’t jeopardize your life and your family.”

Sen. Cruz continued, “Right now I’m at the George R. Brown Convention Center where we’ve got about 3,000 people providing shelter. People who’ve lost their homes, lost in many cases everything and people are hurting but at the same time, I’ve got to tell you, it is inspirational to see Texans just coming together, giving sacrificially. We’ve got hundreds of Texans getting on boats and rescuing people, rescuing their neighbors from high water. We’ve got people driving up to the convention center here with bags of diapers, and food, and clothes. This is a time of crisis, we need prayers, we need support, but we’re also coming together and we’re immensely grateful for that.”

On CNBC, Sen. Cruz praised first responders and Texans who have sacrificed to help and rescue fellow Texans.

“Texas will rebuild, Houston will rebuild,” Sen. Cruz said. “We are a strong and resilient city. I will say, one of the most amazing things is watching Texans come together. In the face of disaster, in the face of adversity, Texans come together and are strong. There are hundreds of individual citizens who have just gotten on their boats and are rescuing their neighbors. You know the city put out a call, if you’ve got a flat bottom boat, and you can help, come do it.”

Sen. Cruz continued, “I visited with a woman in the shelter who was an older woman who was on oxygen and using a walker, she described having to walk down her street in waist high water pushing the walker. My mom uses a walker. I can’t imagine how difficult that was. And she was picked up by a big truck from Gallery Furniture. A big furniture store here in Houston, terrific furniture store. The furniture store truck gave her a ride here. We’re seeing that kind of spontaneous generosity and citizenship. You know you asked the message to business. One message I would give, particularly to big companies, is there’s a real need for relief here and if you have the ability to donate whether it is food, or clothing or medicine or other emergency supplies, or as we shift into the coming weeks, rebuilding that’s going to take an enormous investment as well and I’m hopeful that we will have a lot of good citizens in the business community stepping up to meet those needs.”

On MSNBC, Sen. Cruz discussed his efforts to mobilize assets and coordinate with local, state and federal officials to conduct rescue and recovery operations.

“The city of Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast is reeling,” Sen. Cruz said. “This storm has done historic damage. Here in Houston, in my hometown there have been over 2,000 high water rescues, and the flooding has exceeded anything this city has ever seen before. The George R. Brown Convention center where I am now is a shelter that has been set up with 5,000 beds. We were at 3,000 this morning, we’re expected to hit capacity by the end of the day and other shelters are being stood up.”

Sen. Cruz continued, “And I’ll tell you right now the highest priority still remains on the preservation of life. On high water rescues, people who are still trapped. It is still raining like crazy outside, and the flooding continues to rise. I think we’re headed towards getting through this, and we’re going to get through this. But right now there’s been an incredible coordination of assets, of local and state and federal assets all working together, first responders risking their lives to pull people out of harm’s way.”

Watch Sen. Cruz’s full interviews below:

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