Rick Santorum stutteringly blames 'country of Puerto Rico' for poor hurricane response

Rick Santorum twice tried to be president of the United States — and, though he may not know it, that includes Puerto Rico.

In a CNN appearance Tuesday night, the former Republican senator and two-time presidential candidate discussed how the federal government isn't completely responsible for a poor response to Hurricane Maria's devastation. The "country of Puerto Rico" is more at fault, Santorum said.

Despite the 2017 hurricane leading to nearly 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico, President Trump on Tuesday labeled the federal response to the storm an "unsung success." Santorum similarly didn't think the blame for Maria's devastating death toll should fall entirely on the federal government. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is "not a huge operation" and only "supplements state and local — in this case the country of Puerto Rico — their response," Santorum told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday. Cooper did not correct Santorum's geographical gaffe.

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It's not clear why Santorum visited the "country" during his 2012 presidential run. It may have something to do with the fact that Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States and had 23 delegates to devote to the Republican primary. But if telling Puerto Rico that "English has to be the principal language" for it to become a state didn't turn the whole island against Santorum already, this comment may well do the trick.