Joshua Roberts/Reuters
President Trump on Wednesday appeared to claim that thousands of Texans had to be rescued during Hurricane Harvey last year because they ventured out in boats to gawk at the Category 4 storm. Speaking at a Federal Emergency Management Agency briefing to discuss the upcoming hurricane season, the president hailed the work of the Coast Guard during the hurricane, which left a trail of destruction and killed dozens in Texas last August. “They saved 16,000 people, many of them in Texas, for whatever reason that is,” Trump was quoted as saying by the Houston Chronicle. “People went out in their boats to watch the hurricane. That didn't work out too well,” he said. Numerous volunteer groups used boats to conduct rescue missions in the flood-stricken areas of Texas in the wake of the hurricane. There were no media reports of people simply venturing out to “watch” the storm. Asked about Trump’s claim, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he had “no information one way or the other about that.” Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, appeared equally baffled. “I don’t even know how to respond to that,” he told the Chronicle.