No doubt you've seen the many reports about how Donald Trump and his wife Melania visited Texas a couple days ago. Presumably, they were there to tour the disaster spawned by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain on the greater Houston area, an unprecedented amount, causing massive flooding and displacement of thousands of people.

Trump and his wife were both panned and criticized. Trump for his boasts and supreme lack of empathy, and Melania for what she was wearing (stilettos to get on the plane, as if she were taking a walk to the nearest fashion show). I agree with the criticism, but this is not a political post. It's a post about what is commonly called optics—how things look to others. Controlling optics is one of the many jobs a communicator, especially a public relations person, can do.