Trump Defends 'Unappreciated Great Job' In Puerto Rico, Slams San Juan Mayor After Criticism
  • 6 years ago
President Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his recent remarks relating to Puerto Rico.

President Trump on Wednesday defended his statement describing the response to last year's Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico as an "incredible, unsung success."  "We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan). We are ready for the big one that is coming!" Trump wrote in a tweet.  The day prior, he told reporters gathered in the Oval Office for a briefing on Hurricane Florence, "I actually think [Puerto Rico] was one of the best jobs that's ever been done in respect to what this is all about." Trump went on to mention that the "problem with Puerto Rico" was its electric grid and that the country "had no electricity essentially before the storm and when the storm hit that took it out entirely."  He continued: "The job that FEMA and law enforcement and everybody did working along with the governor in Puerto Rico was tremendous. I think Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success."  Not long after, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz tweeted: "Pres Trump thinks loosing [sic] 3,000 lives is a success. Can you imagine what he thinks failure looks like?"  The casualty figure she referenced was made official in August and marked an increase from the previous estimate of 64. 
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