Trump praises Noem on flooding response: 'Literally the first person I saw on television'

President Trump praised Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem for the federal response to the recent deadly floods in Texas that have killed at least 120 people, amid scrutiny over the speed of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) action in the Lone Star State.

Trump, during a phone interview with NBC News Thursday, said he did not know anything when asked about recent reports of Noem having to sign off on any contract or grant by FEMA if it exceeds $100,000. Agency officials recently formed a task force looking to speed up the process of approval, NBC reported, citing two people familiar with the unit. 

"I don’t know anything about it," Trump told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. "We were right on time."

"We were there — in fact, she was the first one I saw on television. She was there right from the beginning, and she would not have needed anything," he continued, referring to Noem. "She had the right to do it, but she was literally the first person I saw on television."

The president added that the DHS secretary was “right on the ball" and has "done a great job."

The FEMA rule was first reported by CNN, which added that Noem did not approve the agency's deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday — days after the devastating flooding due to heavy rain began in Texas's Hill Country. Noem and DHS criticized the reporting.

“Well, there you go. Fake news. CNN again. It's absolutely trash what they are doing by saying that. Because our Coast Guard, our Border Patrol, BORTAC teams were there immediately," the homeland security chief said Thursday in an appearance on Fox News. "Every single thing they asked for, we were there."

Trump is scheduled to visit Texas on Friday, where search and rescue continues for the more than 160 people still unaccounted for.

The president said in the NBC interview that, “nobody ever saw a thing like this coming” and that “this is a once-in-every-200-year deal.” 

"It’d be easy to blame them. I wouldn’t blame them," he said, referring to local officials. "I think from the standpoint of the future, you’d have to have some kind of an alarm and lighting system, maybe."

The criticism around FEMA's response in Texas comes as Trump and Noem have repeatedly threatened to eliminate the agency and in recent days suggested the administration could recreate it to better serve the states.