Texas GOP speaker splits with Trump over Harvey comments: 'They were heroes'

On Thursday, Speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus rebuked false comments made by Donald Trump over Hurricane Harvey.

See some of the most iconic photos snapped during Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath. On Thursday, Speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus rebuked false comments made by Donald Trump over Hurricane Harvey.

See some of the most iconic photos snapped during Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath. Photo: Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 75 Caption Close Texas GOP speaker splits with Trump over Harvey comments: 'They were heroes' 1 / 75 Back to Gallery

On Thursday, Speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus rebuked false comments made by Donald Trump over Hurricane Harvey.

After the president said Texans required a high number of high-water water rescues during the storm because "people went out in their boats to watch the hurricane," Straus set the record straight on Facebook.

"The people who took their boats into the water during Harvey were not storm-watchers," wrote Straus, a San Antonio Rep. "They were heroes who went toward danger to rescue friends, neighbors, strangers. Texans helping Texans in a time of desperate need."

FULL DETAILS: Trump says many Texans watched Harvey from their boats, requiring Coast Guard rescue

Trump's comments about Harvey were made during a Wednesday conference call with state and federal officials preparing for the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season.

The president said the Coast Guard didn't "get enough credit" for rescuing "sixteen thousand people, many of them in Texas, for whatever reason that is."

"People went out in their boats to watch the hurricane," Trump added. "That didn't work out too well."

Fernando.ramirez@chron.com

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