On His Way to Puerto Rico Trump Again Blames Puerto Ricans: ‘They Have to Give Us More Help’

‘At a Local Level They Have to Give Us More Help’

President Donald Trump Tuesday morning, as he left the White House to travel to Puerto Rico, praised the federal government’s efforts to help the island territory after Hurricane Maria, despite all evidence of failure, then once again blamed the people of Puerto Rico, as he has so many times in the past few days. 

Trump told reporters “in Texas and in Florida we get an A-plus, and I’ll tell you what, I think we’ve done just as good in Puerto Rico.”

Except that’s false. Even Lt. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, who Trump put in charge of the relief efforts, says he doesn’t have enough troops or equipment.

But in a stunning moment, Trump Tuesday morning actually blamed the people of Puerto Rico, like he did early Saturday morning, this time saying they’re just not doing enough to help the federal government.

“We need their truck drivers,” Trump told reporters. “Their drivers have to start driving trucks. We have to do that. So at a local level they have to give us more help.”

The Commander-in-Chief clearly still does not understand that less than half the people on the island have drinking water. Electricity is only about 5 percent restored. In a crisis where the entire area is literally destroyed, it’s there federal government’s job to provide support and assistance, and that includes people to drive trucks.

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.

If you find NCRM valuable, would you please consider making a donation to support our independent journalism?