Story highlights President Trump's decision to visit Texas today is surprising, too soon and could affect rescue efforts

The Obama administration waited till active search and rescue was done and into the phase of damage assessment.

Jen Psaki, a CNN political commentator and spring fellow at the Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service, was the White House communications director and State Department spokeswoman during the Obama administration. She also was a consultant for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Follow her: @jrpsaki. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers

(CNN) Every helicopter supporting a Trump visit to Texas in response to Hurricane Harvey is a helicopter not picking survivors off rooftops.

As President Donald Trump faces the first crisis of his presidency (one that is not self-inflicted) he fortunately has a chief of staff, John Kelly, who knows how to deal with emergency response, and a well-respected FEMA director in Brock Long leading an agency that has rebuilt itself since 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

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.

It is particularly arresting after he credited the expected ratings boost from hurricane coverage with providing the right forum for his Friday night pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. So there is reason to be skeptical about his motivation for the visit.

Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Downtown Houston is seen behind the flooded Buffalo Bayou a few days after Hurricane Harvey came ashore in August 2017. The Category 4 storm caused historic flooding. It set a record for the most rainfall from a tropical cyclone in the continental United States, with 51 inches of rain recorded in areas of Texas. An estimated 27 trillion gallons of water fell over Texas and Louisiana during a six-day period. Hide Caption 1 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas NASA astronaut Jack Fischer photographed Hurricane Harvey from the International Space Station. Hide Caption 2 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Steve Culver comforts his dog Otis in the hurricane aftermath. Harvey destroyed most of his home in Rockport while he and his wife were there. Hide Caption 3 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Houston police officer Daryl Hudeck carries Catherine Pham and her 13-month-old son, Aiden, after rescuing them from floodwaters. Hide Caption 4 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A damaged home is seen in the Key Allegro neighborhood of Rockport. Hide Caption 5 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A car is submerged by floodwaters on a freeway near downtown Houston. Hide Caption 6 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Melani Zurawski cries while inspecting her home in Port Aransas, Texas. Hide Caption 7 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A graveyard is flooded in Pearland, Texas. Hide Caption 8 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Soldiers with the National Guard patrol Rockport, looking for residents trapped in their homes. Hide Caption 9 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Evacuees are loaded onto a truck in Houston. Hide Caption 10 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People push a stalled pickup through a flooded street in Houston. Hide Caption 11 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Rockport residents return to their destroyed home. Hide Caption 12 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Rescue boats fill Tidwell Road in Houston as they help flood victims evacuate the area. Hide Caption 13 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People wait to be rescued from their flooded home in Houston. Hide Caption 14 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Volunteers in Dallas organize items donated for hurricane victims. Hide Caption 15 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas When Harvey slammed the Texas coast and flooded much of Houston, volunteers sprang into action. Some came from as far away as the Florida Everglades, boats in tow, ready to rescue people trapped in their homes. Hide Caption 16 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Larry Koser Jr. and his son Matthew look for important papers and heirlooms inside a flooded home in Houston. Hide Caption 17 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Members of the National Guard rest at a furniture store in Richmond, Texas. Hide Caption 18 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Volunteer rescue workers help a woman from her flooded home in Port Arthur, Texas. Hide Caption 19 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas This aerial photo shows flooded residential neighborhoods in Houston. Hide Caption 20 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Tammy Dominguez and her husband, Christopher, sleep on cots at the George R. Brown Convention Center, where thousands of people were taking shelter in Houston. Hide Caption 21 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas An elderly patient waits to be rescued from the Gulf Health Care Center in Port Arthur. The facility was evacuated with the help of first responders and volunteers. Hide Caption 22 of 22

Don't get me wrong. It is important for every President to visit communities that have been affected by natural disaster. President Trump should visit Texas, eventually. When the worst may still be coming and the local authorities are in the middle of rescue and recovery, it is hard to understand why he is going today.

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