Trump Attacks Heroic San Juan Mayor as a Poor Leader and Puerto Ricans as Lazy
‘They Want Everything to Be Done for Them’ Trump Says of People Who Are Drinking Water From a Creek
President Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of tweets early Saturday morning from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he’s been since Friday afternoon. In his tweet storm he attacked the mayor of San Juan as a poor leader and the people of Puerto Rico as lazy.
It takes a helicopter, a jetliner and another helicopter for Pres Trump to get to his NJ golf club. About 1 hr 35 mins today. pic.twitter.com/6AcNbu3WNF
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) September 29, 2017
White House schedule confirms Trump leaving for his Bedminster golf club at 3pm today. 86th day visiting Trump venue & 66th golf course day.
— Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) September 29, 2017
Puerto Rico this month has been literally destroyed by two back-to-back major hurricanes, leaving the island territory entirely without electricity, landline or cell phone service, internet, and in many areas, roads, for well over a week now.
San Juan’s Mayor Carmen YulÃn Cruz has become the face of the efforts in Puerto Rico. She has been speaking with reporters and giving interviews on cable news networks to try to get the federal government to take action. All week she has been polite but has grown increasingly frustrated with FEMA, which is requiring her to write memos detailing what she and her people need, and requiring all residents of Puerto Rico, she says, to register online for aid. There is no “online” in a decimated Puerto Rico, unless you’re looking at people standing in line for food, water, or medicine.
Those are sitting on the docks in San Juan and other local ports, because the federal government can’t figure out how to get the tens of thousands of shipping containers where they need to go.Â
All week Mayor YulÃn Cruz has been working with FEMA and HHS, praising the people on the ground but lamenting the lack of leadership from Washington. She’s been saying the FEMA employees want to do the right thing but red tape and a lack of direction from D.C. means many are just standing around.
Friday, Mayor YulÃn Cruz had had enough. She said her people are dying and accused the feds of “killing us with the inefficiency.”
San Juan mayor: “I am asking the President of the United States to make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives” pic.twitter.com/nOX5RNGmyp
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 29, 2017
“I am asking the President of the United States to make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives,” she pleaded.
Saturday morning, the President of the United States responded, by accusing her of poor leadership and the people of Puerto Rico of being lazy and bad workers.
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
The federal government’s response has not been “amazing.” It has been not even lackluster, and it’s the fault of the Commander-in-Chief, who spent much of last weekend at his golf course in Bedminster tweeting about NFL players protesting racism, oppression, and police killings of Black people.
According to reports, here at NCRM on Thursday, and Friday evening in The Washington Post, the White House had no plan to intervene in Puerto Rico until news reports on Monday showed images of total devastation.
This is President Trump’s Katrina, and once again, it is our nation’s poorest and most ignored, most of whom are people of color, who are paying the price – sadly, sometimes with their lives.
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As Mayor of San Juan Sends an SOS to the President on ‘Maddow’ Trump Is Feverishly Tweeting
Trump Says He Will Have to Weigh ‘Big Decisions’ on Cost of Rebuilding Puerto Rico
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