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Governor, I do want to hear about your trip in just a moment, but I do need to start with Barrel here and the news that broke last night, President Joe Biden telling the Houston Chronicle they had to delay distributing supplies because they weren't able to reach state leaders for the needed disaster declaration request.
What's your response to that? Is that true?
Oh? First, it is false, completely false, and it's bizarre. You would think that if a president were to make an attack like that on a governor, he would have the receipts to prove it. To the contrary, Julie, I have the receipts to prove he just flat outlight Because Julie, I received multiple phone calls from President Biden in the aftermath of prior disasters when he called me, and he
called directly in the very same number. Every single time, that number has not been called by either the President or he buying the White House at all during this episode, with one exception, and that is on July the fifth, I did receive the phone call on that very same phone number that President Biden has used in the past from one of his cabinet members are a FEMA director. So here's the point. People who work for Joe Biden used the same number that Joe Biden had used in
the past to give me a phone call. When Joe Biden said this time he called me, he just flat up and made it up.
Now did anybody from Texas reach out to the White House to say, hey, we need this disaster declaration? Did anybody request that?
Of course, and Julie, this works the same way that it has in every disaster that we have, and that is what happens is you make an assessment of the damages that occurred. Mathematically it has to add up to a certain dollar amount to get a FEMA award. And we waited until the dollar amount was met and then sought the grant from FEMA, and it was actually awarded
by Joe Biden. So Joe Biden stepped upon his own success by trying to help out Texas by making up a fabrication that has no tether to truth whatsoever.
I do want to talk a little bit about out barrel as you know, more than two million people without power. There's a lot of frustration right now with Center Point. You know, that's handling seventy five percent of it. What should be done to handle this? And are you concerned about how this was handled from a city, state and center point level.
Well, so, when you look at the fact that a Category one hurricane has come through Texas, the sole remaining issue is a horrible issue for a fellow Texans and that is more than two million Texans out of power. Julie, This this should not be happening whatsoever period. And what I'm going to be doing immediately is instructing the Public Utilities Commission to undertake an immediate study to find out why this is repeatedly happening in Houston, Texas. They should
not be losing power. I want to find out was there a structural flaw with regard to the electrical delivery system? Was that the cause of it? If so, what needs to be done to short up? Or was this a personnel issue of not having enough power personnel and all the right locations to get power back up and going again.
All I can tell you is this, I want the PUC to provide information to both me and to the Texas legislature so that we will be able to act on it next year to make sure that events like this never happen again.
You know you are away right now talking about trade, but when you look at our own state, do you think because of all these problems happening in Houston right now, some businesses are going to say, hey, this is not a good place to go because there have been so many issues there.
So the opposite is true. The fact of the matter is that some of the businesses that I've been working with have locations in Texas that were in the pathway of the hurricane itself. For most is an easy example. There's others also, And listen, everybody who locates in Texas knows the hurricanes happen. I will tell you to the contrary of what you suggested, CEO after CEO after CEO has expressed their sympathy and their support, but also their pride about doing business in the state of Texas.
Let's talk a little bit about your trip right now. I know you toured a Samsung facility, obviously a very big deal for us here in Texas. Do you expect more business from Samsung? And what are you gathering on this trip?
So, I mean, we're gathering different things in the different countries that we've been in You mentioned Korea. I'm in Japan right now. But when I was in Korea, yes, we did visit Samsung as well as other companies, But for one, Samsung has more than doubled their initial investment in the Austin facility itself. Now, what we are doing is we're working to attract all of what we'll call the satellite companies that will be providers of supplies and
services to Samsung. If we're able to land those, this is going to be game changing for the entire economy of the state of Texas. Thousands upon thousands of jobs will be added, with tens of billions of dollars of investment made in Texas.
Biggest highlights so far and the biggest avenue you think to increase business.
Well, there's a game. Listen. We all know that there are two or three factors that will determine the future. One is microchips, another is space and with regard to both of those, being able to set up a state office by the Texas Economic Development Team in Taiwan the first time we've ever done that, and recognize Taiwan for the important partner that it is, and then have an agreement with the country of Taiwan and to meet the president and talk about not just economic issues but also
geopolitical based issues. It was both fascinating but also strategically important to the future of Texas. That said, I mean, what we're doing today in Japan, what we did yesterday in Korea, all are very valuable as it concerns the bottom line to growing businesses in the fastest growing business state in America.
Before I let you go, because I know I'm short on time, you know your message to Houstonians right now and to Texans that are really frustrated and angry.
So Ever since I left the state, my mind has never left this state of Texas. All I can think about while i'm here is what's going on in Houston en elsewhere. And Julie, what I do is, after working all day long in whatever country I'm in, I'm telephoning late at night, early in the morning back in Texas, local officials, stateward officials working with Acting Governor Dan Patrick, as well as members of the Leistery Shire as well as these local officials to make sure all of their needs are met.
You comfortable with how they're handling it, or was there a point where you're like I should go back and run this show here.
So, Julie, the way a hurricane response works is that we prepare all year long for hurricanes, and then a week in advanced before a hurricane reaches our shore, we deploy Texas Division of Emergency Management personnel across all of the entire affected area. We had personnel from TM from Brownsville over close to Louisiana, all the way up to near Shreveport or Texas Kenta to make sure that anybody in harm's way was going to have their needs addressed.
The big problem that we're facing, however, is a power problem and delivering that power to customers, and we will not rest until we get that fixed.
Before I let you go, I do have to ask you, because we will both be in Milwaukee.
I assume next week.
Former President Trump you've talked about before, and I've heard you say many times, I'm not interested in being vice president.
I like being the governor of Texas.
However, you have been very active with him when it comes to the border.
Any interest in DHS or being in the cabinet.
I'll tell you this, Jillie. The most important political job in the United States, as president of the United States, the second most important political job in America, as Governor of Texas. And I'm running for reelection as governor of the great State of Texas.