Instead of further outlining a plan to get much-needed aide to American citizens in Puerto Rico, Donald Trump took to Twitter Saturday morning to attack the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz. From his golf resort in New Jersey among all places.
The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
…Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
…want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
The military and first responders, despite no electric, roads, phones etc., have done an amazing job. Puerto Rico was totally destroyed.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
After Trump spent most of last week criticizing NFL players for protesting during the National Anthem and his acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke saying Puerto Rico was a “feel good story”, Cruz has increasingly grown critical of the Administration’s effort to deliver aide to the U.S. territory.
Via the LA Times:
“I’m mad as hell because my peoples’ lives are at stake . . . . We are dying here,” Cruz said, nearly tearing up during a news conference. “If we don’t get the food and the water into people’s hands, what we are going to see is something close to a genocide.”
Cruz said when President Trump visits Tuesday, as planned, he should not only get an aerial view of the situation but actually see municipalities.
“Let him walk in Comerio and see people drinking water from a creek, let him go to Rincon and see people huddled over because they have no food or water,” she said. “Let him hear the cries of elderly people, outside of windows and doors, screaming ‘help us.’ ”
Seven days after Hurricane Maria hit laying massive devastation on the entirety of the Island, Donald Trump said his administration was “thinking about” waiving the Jones Act, a century-old law that requires all goods shipped between U.S. ports be carried on U.S. owned-and-operated vessels. The next day, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders announced the President would waive the Jones Act allowing the expedited shipping of that much-needed aide to the Island.
In addition to the delay with the Jones Act being waived, Trump hasn’t – as of yet – asked Congress for a Puerto Rican relief package that would give FEMA more money to help the Island rebuild. The President has also been critical of Puerto Rico’s massive amounts of debt and failing infrastructure which doesn’t mean a whole lot to mother’s who are trying to get food to their kids or hospital workers trying administer aide to the most vulnerable on the Island.
Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
…It's old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
…owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical are top priorities – and doing well. #FEMA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
Not to mention Trump with held any kind of criticism towards the leaders of Florida or Houston whose Mayor failed to evacuate his city ahead of Hurricane Harvey.
