San Juan mayor blasts Trump for claiming 'success' in Puerto Rico
‘If he thinks the death of 3,000 people [is] a success God help us all.’
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz slammed Trump on Tuesday afternoon for touting his administration’s response to last year’s devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico as an “incredible, unsung success.”
Cruz, whom Trump repeatedly attacked in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, cited the most figures on the death toll in Puerto Rico to highlight the ignorance of Trump’s claim of “success.”
“Success? Federal response according to Trump in Puerto Rico a success?” she wrote in a tweet. “If he thinks the death of 3,000 people [is] a success God help us all.”
Success? Federal response according to Trump in Puerto Rico a success? If he thinks the death of 3,000 people os a success God help us all.
— Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) September 11, 2018
“President Trumps’s statement about his ‘success’ in PR adds insult [to] injury,” she added in a second tweet a short time later.
Her remarks came after Trump bragged to reporters earlier in the day about the federal government’s response in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
While speaking about preparations for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Florence, Trump used the opportunity to praise his administration’s botched response to the deadly hurricane in Puerto Rico.
“I think Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success,” Trump said, failing to mention that the island was left without power for months as shipments of food, water, and medicine were left to rot, and millions of tax dollars were wasted on supplies that never even arrived.
This isn’t the first time Trump has bragged about his administration’s handling of the disaster in Puerto Rico.
Shortly after the official death toll was raised to almost 3,000 people last month, Trump said, “I think we did a fantastic job with Puerto Rico.”
Cruz fired back at those remarks, too, saying, “The administration killed the Puerto Ricans with neglect. Shame on President Trump for not even once, not even yesterday, just saying, ‘Look, I grieve with the people of Puerto Rico.'”
Trump wants to convince people that his administration is prepared to deal with Hurricane Florence as it barrels toward the southern U.S., but that’s a hard sell given that he won’t even acknowledge the failures of last year.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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