Donald Trump was on the ground this week in Texas as search-and-rescue efforts continued in the Houston-area looking for those left behind in the wake of Harvey’s floodwaters.
“We don’t think we’re going to find any humans, but we’re prepared if we do,” District Chief James Pennington of the Houston Fire Department told reporters.
Meanwhile, the president was also dealing with renewed aggression from North Korea and pressure to pass his tax proposal.
Here’s what happened this week in the world of the 45th president.
Aug 31: North Korea threat
The U.S. conducted bombing drills with ally South Korea on Thursday in response to North Korea’s missile launch over Japan.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency issued a statement calling the exercises a “rash act.”
READ MORE: North Korea likely to respond with fury after U.S. conducts bombing drill
The displays of military action come amid the war of words between Trump and Kim Jong Un that have threatened to spill into an actual war on the Korean peninsula.
And following Trump’s tweet that “talking is not the answer” to the standoff over North Korea‘s nuclear weapons and missile programs, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis openly contradicted his commander-in-chief.
WATCH: U.S. bombers fly over Korean peninsula after latest North Korea launch
“We are never out of diplomatic solutions,” Mattis told reporters on Wednesday. The comments from the defense secretary are yet another example of Trump’s top advisers publicly disagreeing with the president.
READ MORE: Fires, explosions rock flooded chemical plant outside Houston
And while Trump claimed to have seen the “horror of Harvey firsthand,” it doesn’t mean he met any victims.
“He met with a number of state and local officials who are eating, sleeping, breathing the Harvey disaster,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. “That certainly is a firsthand account.”
The White House also announced Trump is personally pledging $1 million to Harvey storm relief efforts.
Aug 30: ‘Bring back Main Street’
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Amid the fallout from the Harvey disaster which killed at least 30 people and forced tens of thousands from their home, Trump delivered his opening pitch on tax reform Wednesday saying the GOP plan to overhaul the tax code would “bring back Main Street.”
“The foundation of our job creation agenda is to fundamentally reform our tax code for the first time in more than 30 years,” said Trump who was short on specifics.
WATCH: After bungling Obamacare repeal, President Trump pushing hard on tax reform
Instead of a detailed proposal, Trump’s speech in Missouri relied heavily on how cutting taxes will lead to economic benefits and “Make America Great Again.” The White House and GOP leaders are still without a major legislative win.
READ MORE: Donald Trump pushes tax reform without detailed proposal
Also Wednesday, the United Nations sharply criticized the U.S. president for his “demonization” of the media that could result in dangerous consequences for journalists.
“It’s really quite amazing when you think that freedom of the press, not only sort of a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution but very much something that the United States defended over the years, is now itself under attack from the president,” Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said during a press conference. “It’s sort of a stunning turnaround. And ultimately, the sequence is a dangerous one.”
And with much of Houston underwater, Trump is being criticized for a decision to roll back an order from former president Barack Obama that would have made it easier for communities to use federal emergency aid to rebuild important infrastructure to withstand future disasters.
READ MORE: Many Harvey flood victims are uninsured and experts warn Canadians equally unprotected
Critics say the order could lead cities to rebuild infrastructure in the same flood-prone areas. The order Trump revoked would have permitted cities to rebuild and take into account climate scientists’ predictions of more intense storms and flooding.
The Associated Press reports it’s one example how Trump, who called climate change a hoax, has tried to erase the former administration’s efforts to prepare the U.S. for the threat of a changing climate.
Aug 29: Trump on the ground in Texas
Speaking in Corpus Christi, Texas, near where Harvey made its initial landfall, Trump offered reassurances Tuesday to Texans who felt the wrath of Harvey.
“We are going to get you back and operating immediately,” said Trump, who has relished the role of guiding the nation’s response to Harvey.
READ MORE: Before and after photos show extent of Houston flooding
The president also took a moment to comment on the size of the crowd assembled for his speech.
“What a crowd. What a turnout,” he said, thanking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. “This is historic. It’s epic what happened, but you know what, it happened in Texas, and Texas can handle anything.”
WATCH: Trump arrives in Texas to receive Hurricane Harvey update
The White House has said the president’s visit was focused on co-ordination among different levels of government and planning for what is expected to be a lengthy recovery.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump warned North Korea that “all options are on the table,” after the secretive state launched yet another ballistic missile over Japan.
READ MORE: Donald Trump warns ‘all options are on the table’ after North Korea’s latest missile launch
The Canadian government also condemned North Korea’s “reckless” missile launch, while calling for North Korea to “cease these provocations” and to “verifiably abandon its ballistic missile program.”
WATCH: Trump on latest North Korea aggression – ‘We’ll see. We’ll see’
Aug 28: Trump defends Sheriff Joe
As Hurricane Harvey continued to pound Texas, and rapidly rising floodwaters forced more than 30,000 people into shelters across the state, Trump defended his decision to pardon controversial former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
During a Monday press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Trump was questioned about the timing of pardoning the controversial former sheriff on Friday night — just hours before Hurricane Harvey made landfall, which initially killed eight people. That number has climbed to more than 30.
WATCH: Donald Trump defends pardoning former sheriff Joe Arpaio
“In the middle of a hurricane, even though it was a Friday, I assumed the ratings would be far higher than they would be normally,” Trump said.
READ MORE: Donald Trump defends pardoning of former sheriff Joe Arpaio
Trump signed an order Monday that would allow local police departments to have greater access to military weapons like grenade launchers and high-calibre weapons.
Reviving the program that was curtailed by the former Obama administration was decried by civil rights groups, Democrats and some Republicans.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky called the plan a dangerous expansion of government power, while Republican Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, said the program “incentivizes the militarization of local police departments, as they are encouraged to grab more equipment than they need.”
READ MORE: Rex Tillerson says Donald Trump ‘speaks for himself’ on racial violence
Meanwhile, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry released yet another statement emphatically denying it would pay for a border wall following more of Trump’s tweets on Sunday.
“As the Mexican government has always stated, our country will not pay, under any circumstances, for a wall or physical barrier built on U.S. territory along the Mexican border,” the statement from Mexico’s foreign ministry said.
However, a Mexican official offered “all the help and co-operation that can be provided” by its government to aid the response to Hurricane Harvey “as good neighbors should always do in trying times.”
*With files from the Associated Press and Reuters
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