President Donald Trump is heading to Texas on Tuesday to display the federal government’s support for areas hit by Hurricane Harvey, but Houston, which is underwater and is expecting even more rain, won’t be on his itinerary.
Trump “will not be coming to the Houston area, which is the most, still danger-prone area,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Fox News Channel Monday.
“Instead, it will be closer to where the hurricane came across shore, which is closer to the Corpus Christi or San Antonio area,” Abbott said in response to questions about whether, with up to two more feet of rain still expected in the Houston area, it would be a good time for the president to visit.
First Lady Melania Trump will accompany her husband on the visit, her communications director tweeted Monday.
The White House has not yet announced the president’s itinerary.
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In planning the trip, Trump faces the challenge of displaying his support and easing the region’s recovery — but without getting in the way of local officials who are both leading recuperation efforts and preparing for more bad weather.
That test is no small feat for a president who loves the spotlight.
Trump indicated on Sunday he understood some of the obstacles, tweeting that he would visit the state “as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption,” adding that “the focus must be life and safety.”
Ahead of the visit, Trump and vice president Mike Pence were taking actions from Washington, D.C.. to help the region.
Trump approved Louisiana’s request for a federal emergency declaration Monday morning, while Pence, in an interview with Houston radio station KTRH, reassured the people of Texas that Americans are with them and will be there to help rebuild.
A visit by Trump could create a logistical nightmare, even if it took place away from storm-hit Houston, with state and federal officials needing to devote all their attention to the submerged metropolis, where 20 more inches of rain were expected.
In addition, Harvey, now a tropical storm with winds about 30 to 40 mph, could also come back and hit land again, creating more headaches.
The storm is currently about 15 miles off the middle of the Texas coast and is slowly moving back toward coastal waters. It is expected to remain offshore through Tuesday before resurging in the Gulf of Mexico and turning back north toward southeast Texas on Wednesday.
How Trump handles the aftermath of Harvey — the first natural disaster he’s faced in the Oval Office — could have lasting impact on his popularity and on the public’s perception of the president’s competence.
His two predecessors faced very different outcomes in their immediate responses to hurricanes.
George W. Bush, whose bungled and slow response to Hurricane Katrina is cited by historians as one of the most worst presidential responses to a natural disaster, was in Air Force One when he first surveyed the wreckage of the 2005 superstorm four days after it hit the Gulf Coast.
Bush, who’d been on vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., was returning to Washington in Air Force One, which flew low over the Gulf Coast so he could see the devastation. The photos of a somber-looking Bush in his plane, however, backfired, creating the perception almost immediately that he was distant and detached from the horror on the ground.
With Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Barack Obama embarked on a helicopter inspection over New Jersey on Oct. 31, two days after the storm hit, and was greeted enthusiastically by Republican Gov. Chris Christie.
Obama also took an aerial tour of Queens, Staten Island and other areas hit in New York two weeks later on Nov. 15.
Trump, for his part, faces the added challenge of getting lawmakers to greenlight billions of dollars for the recovery in Texas, due to the skirmishes resulting from a Sept. 30 deadline to continue funding the federal government.
Trump last week threatened to let the federal government shut down if he doesn’t get his long-promised border wall funded.