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Why President Trump chose Annaville for his Coastal Bend stop

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania landed at the Corpus Christi International Airport Tuesday and joined a motorcade to Annaville to be briefed on recovery efforts in the Coastal Bend.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania landed Tuesday at the Corpus Christi International Airport and joined a motorcade to Annaville to be briefed on recovery efforts in the Coastal Bend.

With the devastation left by Hurricane Harvey, many in the community took the president's arrival as a sign that the government is here to help us; but many wondered -- why Annaville and not one of the heavily impacted areas like Rockport, Port Aransas or Aransas Pass?

The briefing was held along with Coastal Bend city leaders at the Annaville Volunteer Fire Station, a department that has been assisting in recovery efforts in hard-hit areas.

But according to U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, that's not the only reason they chose Annaville.

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Farenthold told 3 News that Trump's visit was carefully scheduled so that his presence would cause minimal interference with ongoing recovery efforts in those hard-hit communities. He pointed out the sheer amount of law enforcement resources a presidential visit requires -- resources that communities like Rockport and Port Aransas cannot spare.

The congressman said the decision to go to Annaville could also have been because of to how close it is to the Corpus Christi International Airport, since Trump is expected to make his way to Austin directly after his briefing from city and state leaders.

And as for the briefing...

"He got a positive report about how the federal response is working, and he also got a feel for what is going on down here," Farenthold said.

Following the briefing, Farenthold told 3News that he took the opportunity to tell President Trump not to forget that there are a lot of communities besides just Houston that were devastated by the storm.

"The president promised me he would not forget the rest of Texas," Farenthold said.

The congressman went on to say that Trump "wants this to be the most effective and fastest disaster recovery the country has ever seen."

American Electric Power Texas was able to give the president a report on their efforts to restore power. Farenthold said the president told them that the federal government has worked to remove some of the red tape that might hinder their work, and asked them if that helped and if there's more they could do.

Farenthold told 3News that AEP Texas indicated that they have the told they need to get the job done, along with support from other electric companies nationwide.

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