Trump doubles down on Puerto Rico response defense, calls San Juan mayor 'incompetent'
As Hurricane Florence barreled toward the East Coast on Wednesday, President Trump continued to tout his administration's response to last year's Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
In a tweet, Trump said that the government did an "unappreciated great job" in response to Hurricane Maria in spite of Puerto Rico being an "inaccessible island with very poor electricity." He also took aim at San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, calling her "totally incompetent."
A study found that nearly 3,000 people died as a result of the hurricane, up from the original estimate of 64, CNN reports. FEMA also has admitted it was ill-prepared for the storm. Trump had said last fall that Maria wasn't a "real catastrophe" like Hurricane Katrina. But Maria's updated death toll is much higher than the roughly 1,800 people who died during Katrina. Cruz on Tuesday joined others in criticizing the president, writing on Twitter, "If he thinks the death of 3,000 people [is] a success God help us all."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
6 of the world’s most accessible destinationsThe Week Recommends Experience all of Berlin, Singapore and Sydney
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
