San Juan Mayor Blasts Trump for Putting Puerto Rico ‘Debt Above People’

‘You Don’t Put Debt Above People, You Put People Above Debt’

President Donald Trump is under fire for what has been his near total lack of response to the desperate humanitarian crisis growing on the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which he only worsened Monday night by effectively blaming the people of Puerto Rico for the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. The president, for the most part, has been obsessed with his war on NFL players “taking a knee” to protest racial oppression and the shooting by police of Black people. 

Trump caught a clip of Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, thanking FEMA for their assistance Tuesday morning, but he did not hear the other remarks she’s been respectfully making against him.

USA Today reports Yulín Cruz had said “that aid was starting to reach the island, and ‘that is making people feel like we’re not alone and we can make it,'” and telling CNN, the “FEMA people have been wonderful.” 

Trump Tuesday morning tweeted his thanks to her:

Yulín Cruz, however had blasted President Trump for his offensive and tone-deaf tweets Monday night, in which, as many on social media noted, he blamed the island for its troubles.

After commending Texas and Florida for recovery progress from their hurricanes, Trump said Puerto Rico, “which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble.” 

“It’s [sic] old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with,” he tweeted. “Food, water and medical are top priorities – and doing well,” the president concluded, angering many.

“These are two different topics,” the mayor, blasting Trump, told CNN. “One topic is the massive debt, which we know we have and it’s been dealt with. But you don’t put debt above people, you put people above debt.”

RELATED: Puerto Rico Is Rapidly Becoming a Humanitarian Disaster – and They’re Not Getting Enough Help From the Federal Government

“There is a moral imperative,” she added. “When someone is in need, when someone is in dire need, when someone is in a life or death situation, there is a human, moral imperative to deal with that situation first, and then deal with any other situation that comes.”

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