“Actually, in the middle of a hurricane, even though it was a Friday evening, I assumed the ratings would be far higher than they were normally.”
— President Donald Trump, expressing surprise that his pardoning of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio did not receive the TV ratings he expected even though he timed the announcement for when Hurricane Harvey hit Texas for maximum media coverage
“It’s highly unusual for senior aides and Cabinet officials to openly critique the president. To some degree, they were likely fed up with the current situation and don’t fear the consequences. What’s the worst that can happen? He fires you?”
— Ryan Williams, a Republican consultant who worked for Mitt Romney, on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, publicly challenging statements by President Donald Trump
“Can you imagine if millions of people had left the city of Houston and then tried to come back in right now?”
— Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, sticking by his decision to not issue an evacuation order for city residents for Hurricane Harvey
