Donald Trump claim he saw 'horror of Harvey firsthand' does not mean he met any victims, White House explains

Explanation follows criticism of President for only meeting with officials

When Donald Trump said he had witnessed "first hand" the horrors of Hurricane Harvey, it did not mean he had met with victims of the storm, the White House has said.

Mr Trump was criticised after he visited Texas, which has been devastated by flooding. He did not meet victims and, during a speech, marvelled at the size of the crowd that turned out to see him.

Standing outside a Corpus Christi fire station, Mr Trump said, "Thank you. We love you, you are special, we are here to take care of you. It’s going well." He added: "What a crowd, what a turnout."

He tweeted later: "After witnessing first hand the horror & devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey,my heart goes out even more so to the great people of Texas!"

Andrew Beatty, the White House correspondent for the AFP news agency, tweeted in response: "I traveled with the President yesterday. Personally, I would not claim to have seen Harvey's horror and devastation first hand."

Asked by a reporter what the President had meant, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "He met with a number of state and local officials who are eating, sleeping, breathing the Harvey disaster.

"He talked extensively with the governor, who certainly is right in the midst of every bit of this, as well as the mayors from several of the local towns that were hit hardest.

"And detailed briefing information throughout the day yesterday taking to a lot of the people on the ground. That certainly is a first hand account."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Mr Trump showed "genuine compassion" during a short flight to Austin as they watched video footage of the flooding in Houston.

The President deliberately kept his distance from the epicentre of the damage in Houston to avoid disrupting recovery operations, it was reported.

One resident of Rockport, a town about 20 miles from where Mr Trump made his speech, said: "He'd see enough if he came along here in a helicopter."

However, critics said he failed to show enough compassion for victims. Ari Fleischer, press secretary to former President George W Bush, said his remarks were missing "empathy for the people who suffer".

Mr Trump plans to return to the region on Saturday to survey the damage and meet with some victims, Ms Sanders said.

"We are going to get you back and operating immediately," Mr Trump added in his Corpus Christi address.

Additional reporting by agencies