In Dallas, George W. Bush offers words of support for Houston, via college football players

George W. Bush and Laura Bush.
(Image credit: Mike Stone/Getty Images)

Former President George W. Bush shared some words of encouragement on Tuesday with members of the Southern Methodist University football team from Houston.

Bush's presidential library is at the university, in Dallas, and he attends at least one football practice every year to wish the team luck, The Dallas Morning News reports. During his stop on Tuesday, the former Texas governor told the players from Houston and the surrounding area that he knew they were "going through a really tough time," but they're not alone. "Just know that there will be a lot of people that are going to help the people down there," said Bush, who served as president during Hurricane Katrina. "A lot. Right now they're recovering, and so the key thing on the recovery is to keep people safe. And then it's going to be rebuilding. And if you're from that area, you'll be amazed at the people that come down there to help. All kinds of people. So, the days are dark now, but they're going to get better."

For those who are able to attend, SMU's football team announced Tuesday it will offer free tickets to its season opener on Saturday, plus concessions, to people affected by Tropical Storm Harvey.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.