Hurricane Harvey has ravaged Houston, Texas, with over 30 inches of rain falling in just 72 hours. Thousands have had to flee their homes because of surging floodwater and torrential rain, seeking shelter in over-filled venues. More than 3,500 people have been rescued by the National Guard and up to 30,000 soldiers have been put on standby to assist with emergency efforts, reports Sky.
And, just their luck, Donald Trump’s on the way to survey the damage. The president has already been tweeting about the devastating hurricane with all the enthusiastic exclamation points at his disposal, thanking the emergency services who’ve helped get people to some sense of normalcy:
And now, at the time of this typing, he’s flying with First Lady Melania Trump from near the White House to Houston. Well, not quite Houston, but as close as they can get without distracting the efforts of the emergency services. And much has been made of what they’re wearing for this occasion.
Melania has accessorised an all-black outfit with aviators with a cropped green khaki bomber jacket and some statuesque heels - maybe she didn’t want to get her ankles wet! - and now looks a lot like Call My Name-era Cheryl Cole. And that’s fine, really. Her job isn’t to be the president, is it? Maybe that means she shouldn't be on this trip, but whatever.
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Because, as for Trump, this is where it gets truly interesting. He’s in kind of casual wear, which we never see him in unless he’s playing golf. When he’s playing golf, (which he's done for 22% of his Presidency as of 20th August 2017) he opts for khaki trousers or shorts, and a white polo shirt, tucked in to those same khakis. Isn’t it funny and strange and entirely coincidental that this is literally the same outfit that hundreds of far-right Nazis wore as part of the Unite the Right rally that resulted in an anti-fascist being killed in Charlottesville earlier this month?
Anyway, perhaps someone’s noticed this and had a word with Trump about his clothing. Better to distance himself sartorially from Nazis, than, say, have him properly condemn their hate.Or maybe it’s just very cold in the shadow of the eye of the hurricane? Either way, Trump's in an open-collared white shirt, khaki trousers, brown caterpillar boots and a black standard-issue Presidential cagoule. When Hurricane Sandy hit a whole swathe of the US in 2012, Obama wore something very similar to assess damage in New York.
Obama also hugged people who were in shock after having lost their houses, possessions and maybe even loved ones. It’s still to be seen whether Trump will be doing that.
But will Trump's decision to ditch the long-tied businessman look and go for something a touch more presidential do enough to show that he cares? Well, considering that - from the looks of it - he’s taken a Make America Great Again hat onto Air Force One with him, he might not convince everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey that he cares about them and their needs and struggles. After all, just days before the tropical storm hit, Trump decided to reverse an Obama-era flood protection standards, reports The Independent. Maybe it’s best to keep that red hat tucked under the more generic, white ‘USA’ cap, then.
There is no official death toll from Hurricane Harvey as yet.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.