Leavitt: Blaming Trump for Texas Floods 'Depraved Lie'

After a weekend of media criticism aimed at President Donald Trump amid flooding in Texas, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt opened Monday's daily press briefing calling out the "depraved lies" pushed by Democrat and anti-Trump media opportunists.

"Unfortunately, in the wake of this once-in-a-generation natural disaster, we have seen many falsehoods pushed by Democrats such as Chuck Schumer and some members of the media," Leavitt said in her opening statement Monday at the White House. "Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie.

"And it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning."

Leavitt laid out the "facts," including saying, "the National Weather Service did its job," giving at least three hours of lead time on flash flood warnings – "despite claims to the contrary" by anti-Trump Democrats and media suggesting cuts to staffing could be to blame for citizens not getting warnings.

"So to any person who has deliberately lied about these facts surrounding this catastrophic event, you should be deeply ashamed," Leavitt said. "At this time, the administration's focus will be giving on giving the victims in their communities the support they deserve during these recovery efforts in this tragic time.

"May God bless the great people of Texas, especially the parents who have lost their children. President Trump loves you. We are praying for you and he will be traveling to see you later this week."

The first questions in the briefing brought up the myriad misinformation peddled by Democrats and leftist media on the staffing of the National Weather Service, first responders, and Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Leavitt again condemned the critics targeting Trump and administration officials' response.

"Those comments are depraved and despicable, especially when so many Americans are mourning the loss of their children," Leavitt said. "The National Weather Service, as I said, did its job. Many experts, many meteorologists have said that many of you in the media, in all fairness, have said that as well.

"Unfortunately, not all – as many Democrat elected officials are trying to turn this into a political game. And it is not.

"This is a national tragedy and the administration is treating it as such. We know the National Weather Service provided early and consistent warnings. They gave out timely flash flood alerts. There were record breaking lead times in the lead up to this catastrophe. There is ongoing flood monitoring. And these offices were well staffed.

"In fact, one of the offices was actually overstaffed. They had more people than they need, so any claim to the contrary is completely false. And it's just sad that people are pushing these lies."