President Donald Trump's visit to flood-ravaged Texas on Tuesday is too early because search and rescue operations are still underway in the Houston area, a former Obama administration official wrote in a column for CNN.
Jen Psaki served as White House communications director and State Department spokesperson under former President Barack Obama. She wrote on CNN that Trump's decision to visit Corpus Christi and Austin could take away from the life-saving operations that are ongoing as more than 49 inches of rain have fallen in and around Houston.
"Every helicopter supporting a Trump visit to Texas in response to Hurricane Harvey is a helicopter not picking survivors off rooftops," Psaki wrote.
"There will be many decisions ahead about resources and funding at the federal level that will have an actual impact on the recovery of Houston and the other affected communities. These will be far more important than the movements of Air Force One, but the President's decision to travel to Texas just days after the first wave of the storm hit is, at best, surprising."
Psaki argued that while it's important for presidents to visit areas victimized by natural disasters, Trump's timing — just days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Corpus Christi Friday night — is off.
"Right now Trump should be using whatever political capital he has to get funding freed up and he can show support orchestrating an effective and efficient response from Washington," Psaki wrote. "The time will be right for a visit, but that isn't today."
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