Giving cover to the White House, Edwards declined to join those calls. He told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Thursday night that while Obama was welcome anytime, it would be better for him to wait a week or two so as not to divert resources from what remains an active rescue and recovery effort. He noted that a presidential visit requires hundreds of local first responders to help with security and shutting down roads. “It is a major ordeal,” Edwards said. “I’d ask him to wait if he would for another couple weeks.”

Later Friday afternoon, the White House announced that Obama would visit Baton Rouge on Tuesday; he was due to conclude his vacation in Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday. “The president is mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders and wants to ensure that his presence does not interfere with ongoing recovery efforts,” spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement. “He is also eager to get a first-hand look at the impact of the devastating floods, hear from more officials about the response, including how the federal government can assist and tell the people of Louisiana that the American people will be with them as they rebuild their community and come back stronger than ever.”

Trump did not wait for an invitation.

During a visit overshadowed by the resignation of his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, Trump and Pence landed shortly before 9 a.m. Wearing a white “Make America Great Again” hat, Trump shook hands with dignitaries at the airport before his motorcade made its way through hard-hit East Baton Rouge Parish. He stopped at a Baptist church and met with Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council and a former state legislator in Louisiana. Trump and Perkins joked about Obama’s golf game as they chatted, according to Candace Smith of ABC News.

The Associated Press reported that Trump received a warm welcome, as onlookers took breaks from clearing muck out of their homes to wave to his motorcade. At the church, Trump thanked volunteers, signed hats, and asked about the extent of the damage.

Hillary Clinton has said little about the disaster, but on Friday she sent an email to her supporters asking that they donate to the Red Cross. In her note, she said she had spoken to the governor and hinted at why she has no immediate plans to visit: “My heart breaks for Louisiana, and right now, the relief effort can't afford any distractions,” Clinton wrote. “The very best way this team can help is to make sure Louisianans have the resources they need.”

Six days after torrential downpours dumped more than two feet of rain across Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes, water has been receding from many areas, although others are becoming flooded as it flows south, officials have said. The slow-moving storm damaged more than 40,000 homes, left thousands more without electricity and sent, at one point, more than 8,000 Louisiana residents into shelters. Some shelters were closed by Friday as people moved out, and some schools in Baton Rouge were set to reopen Monday.