vital assistance behind the scenes. >> the president and his cabinet remain in constant contact with me and my staff, and they all had one thing to say. texas, what do you need? how can we help? you can count on us. >> reporter: trump treading carefully in texas, stopping short of declaring a job well done as thousands of evacuees remain in storm shelters and harvey's rain moves toward louisiana. >> we won't say congratulations. we don't want to do that. we don't want to congratulate. we'll congratulate each other when it's all finished. thank you for coming out. >> reporter: but even he couldn't resist a moment to marvel at the crowds who came out mostly to cheer the president's visit. >> thank you, everybody. what a crowd. what a turnout. >> reporter: trump's tour of texas just days after hurricane harvey made land fall, marking a grim milestone in his young presidency. the first major natural disaster he has presided over. marshaling federal assistance and offering words of comfort and resilience.