President Trump on Friday praised the U.S. Coast Guard for its efforts during last year’s hurricane season and at the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming the agency’s “brand” has never been better.
“I don’t think any brand has gained more momentum than the United States Coast Guard,” Trump said during a change-of-command ceremony at the Coast Guard’s headquarters in Washington.
Trump, who ordered the deployment of National Guard troops at the southwest border this spring, said the Coast Guard has also proved to be a tremendous help to immigration enforcement officials, particularly in its recent pursuit of drug smugglers off the coast of San Diego.
Friday’s ceremony came just days after the Trump administration faced questions about the reliability of death toll estimates for Hurricane Maria, which decimated the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico last fall and may have killed as many as 5,000 residents, according to some studies. The Coast Guard deployed nearly 3,000 officers last year to respond to Hurricanes Maria, Harvey, and Irma.
“They’ve never seen a water dump like that I think in history,” Trump said Friday, referring to Hurricane Harvey that flooded Houston and displaced thousands of Texans last August.
