JERSEY CITY, N.J. — President Trump on Sunday scoffed at “politically motivated ingrates” who questioned his administration’s commitment to rebuilding Puerto Rico after a pulverizing hurricane, and said the federal government had done “a great job with the almost impossible situation.”
Trump’s latest tweets sought to defend Washington’s attentiveness to recovery efforts on a U.S. territory in dire straits almost two weeks after Hurricane Maria struck.
The president spent Saturday ensconced in his New Jersey golf club and Sunday attended an international golf competition near New York City.
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz on Friday accused the Trump administration of “killing us with the inefficiency” after the storm. She begged the president, who is due to visit Puerto Rico on Tuesday, to “make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives,” and appealed for help “to save us from dying.”
Cruz said Sunday that “there’s only one goal, and it’s saving lives,” adding that all she did “was ask for help.”
“I know the good heart of the American people and I know that when a mayday sound goes off, they come to the rescue,” she said in a television interview.
Trump appeared unconcerned with the optics of spending his Sunday afternoon watching The Presidents Cup at the Liberty National Golf Club as the crisis continued. Trump was a guest in the commissioner’s hospitality suite perched above the course’s 14th hole.
When Trump presented the trophy to Team U.S.A., he dedicated it to the people of Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida still recovering from hurricane devastation.
“On behalf of all of the people of Texas and all of the people of – if you look today and see what’s happening, how horrible it is. But we have it under really great control,” Trump said.
As Trump spoke, someone in the crowd accused him of not caring about Puerto Rico, using a vulgarism to make the point.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.