US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has failed to impress critics who blasted his administration for not being empathetic enough to storm victims affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Texas continues to encounter flooding devastation while a new risk has been posed in the form of a chemical plant in Crosby, Texas. Chemicals are expected to catch fire or explode in the coming days as the plant loses power to its chemical cooling systems.

Yet despite the evacuation, Mr Trump has been criticised for using precious time to talk about one of his important election points: Tax reform.

The president opened a speech on tax reform in Springfield, Missouri, with a pledge to stand by the people of Texas and Louisiana.

“We are here with you today ... and we will be with you every single day after to restore, recover and rebuild,” he said on Wednesday.

But it wasn’t enough.

Trump faced another day of criticism for lack of empathy for Harvey victims, giving a teleprompter speech on tax cuts in Missouri. #LastWord pic.twitter.com/k71Jsz4reY — The Last Word (@TheLastWord) August 31, 2017

Mr Trump used most of his speech to essentially launch his big legislative push for tax reform.

He hopes to get it over the line by the end of the year, but his prior plans to get legislation moving before summer’s end didn’t happen and now with Tropical Storm Harvey there is a real possibility Congress may simply be too busy.

Ideally, Mr Trump wants to smash the corporate tax rate in the United States from 35 to 15 per cent.

He wants tax relief for middle class families and to bring back offshore products in companies such as Apple. It will be up to Congress to figure out how to make that happen.

Trump starts his push for tax reform and says "I don't want to be disappointed by Congress" — Michelle Fleury (@BizFleury) August 30, 2017

Tens of thousands of homes were just obliterated by a hurricane but Trump is busy trying to give billionaires a tax cut. pic.twitter.com/cTD5GUobpj — jordan 🌹🌹 (@JordanUhl) August 30, 2017

But at a time when Tropical Storm Harvey spun across southeast Texas into Louisiana, sending more people fleeing for shelter after swamping Houston with record rains and flooding that killed at least 35 people and drove tens of thousands from their homes, some Americans are questioning Mr Trump’s timing yet again.

Critics on Twitter say the speech should have been delayed, and despite his initial comments, he was forced to make an awkward “hand brake” back to the topic of the day: tax reform.

“For some, that’s a difficult switch to swallow,” BBC World New’s Michelle Fleury reported.

The guy who won't release his tax returns will try to tie debt ceiling & tax cuts to hurricane relief. There isn't enough money. More lies. — Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) August 31, 2017

We're experiencing a costly hurricane, and Trump's in Missouri talking tax cuts. Waiting for him to say Mexico will pay for all the damage. — Bruce Trout (@GEOHIST33) August 30, 2017

I predict trump will show much more compassion and empathy calling for tax cuts for wealthy today than visiting hurricane victims yesterday — (((DeanObeidallah))) (@Deanofcomedy) August 30, 2017

Yesterday, Mr Trump was slammed for not meeting or mentioning any storm victims on his first visit to survey the widespread damage caused by deadly Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

Mr Trump arrived in the southern state after the catastrophic natural disaster claimed at least 35 lives and forced tens and thousands of people to flee deluged homes.

The president was greeted with cheers and jeers from 1000 supporters and protesters who had gathered on a rural highway near Corpus Christi. Many were chanting, “USA! USA! USA!”. and, “We love Trump”.

“Thank you, everybody,” he said as he addressed the crowd.

“I just want to say: We love you. You are special ... What a crowd. What a turnout.”

As @realDonaldTrump leaves for Texas, he makes sure he's carrying the hats he's been advertising--yours for just $40 on his campaign website pic.twitter.com/jCtexY3iOx — Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) August 29, 2017

As of late Tuesday local time, Mr Trump had yet to mention those killed, visit those affected or call on other Americans to help or directly encourage donations to relief organisations.

That, combined with the white “USA” hat he wore (which is advertised for $40 on his site shop.donaldtrump.com) during the address prompted backlash from those who accused him of gratuitous marketing.

It was the third time in four days that Mr Trump wore on-sale campaign merchandise to Harvey-related events.

Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) spokesman Jordan Libowitz told CNN the president’s decision to wear the hat in official White House photos “even removed from the hurricane, (is) pretty inappropriate”.

According to CREW, the main issue was that it subsequently meant “free advertising for Trump products”. But he said there was no suggestion the president had done anything illegal by wearing the hat.

“There is a difference between what is technically legal and what is ethically right,” he said.

Mr Trump has refused to sell his business holdings as president. He instead transferred them into a trust in his name. Any business profits will ultimately go to him when he leaves office.

CREW is suing President Trump over his business interests. It claims he is violating a section of the Constitution that bars officials from accepting anything of value from a foreign government.

Mr Trump’s hat also didn’t go unnoticed by critics who flocked to social media to accuse the president of focusing on his administration’s response and trying to pedalling his wares instead of showing support to the millions of Texans affected by the disaster.

Leaving now for Texas! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2017

Just in case you were unsure, Trump flew to Texas and did not meet with a single hurricane victims.



Not one.



But he had a rally. — Dane Rauschenberg (@SeeDaneRun) August 30, 2017

Trump has used his Harvey meetings as product placement for hats he sells for $40 two days in a row now... pic.twitter.com/EQcPkS8Yit — Gabriel Snyder (@gabrielsnyder) August 27, 2017

Wait, did Trump seriously fly down to Texas and not meet with any victims? — Jesse Berney (@jesseberney) August 30, 2017

The storm has forced 32,000 people into shelters since coming ashore on Friday as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in half a century.

On Wednesday, it pummelled the coast from Port Arthur, Texas, to Lake Charles, Louisiana. Harvey weakened to a tropical depression on Wednesday night, the US National Hurricane Center said, but warned that “catastrophic and life threatening flooding will continue in and around Houston, Beaumont/Port Arthur, eastward into southwest Louisiana for the rest of the week.”

The latest reported deaths included a married couple who drowned while driving through high water near Simonton, Texas, Major Chad Norvell of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.

Houston’s KHOU-TV said an infant girl was swept away after her parents got out of their pickup truck near New Waverly, Texas, and tried to carry her across rushing water.

Police in Harris County, home to Houston, said 17 people remained missing.

MSNBC chyron during Trump's tax speech pic.twitter.com/EgwayrjTPW — igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) August 30, 2017

Busloads of people fleeing floodwaters around Port Arthur arrived in Lake Charles, joining residents who had packed into shelters to escape waterlogged homes. About 250,000 homes and businesses were without power in Texas and Louisiana, figures from four utilities showed.

Harvey was forecast to drop a further 10 to 20 centimetres of rain on Wednesday, with a storm surge of up to1.2 metres along the western part of Louisiana’s Gulf Coast, although the Houston area was finally expected to get a break, with no rain forecast for Thursday or Friday.

Moody’s Analytics is estimating the economic cost from Harvey for southeast Texas at $AU64 billion, ranking it among the costliest storms in US history.

“The worst is not yet over for southeast Texas, as far as the rain is concerned,” Governor Greg Abbott said.

We must reform our tax code so that all Americans can succeed in our modern economy & achieve the American Dream! #TaxReform pic.twitter.com/qTkn2Uivjt — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) August 30, 2017

He warned residents of storm-hit areas to expect floodwaters to linger for up to a week and said the area affected was larger than that hit by 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,800 people in New Orleans, and 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, which killed 132 around New York and New Jersey.

Vice President Mike Pence and several Cabinet secretaries will travel to Texas on Thursday to meet residents affected by the storm as well as local and state officials, Pence’s press secretary said.

- megan.palin@news.com.au

- Additional reporting by Reuters