Trump rolls in to Puerto Rico
U.S. president scolds residents, praises himself in bizarre visit to ravaged island
WASHINGTON— He accused Puerto Ricans of throwing the federal budget “out of whack.” He suggested Puerto Rico had not experienced a “real catastrophe” like Hurri- cane Katrina, since a mere “16 people” had been confirmed dead in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
He told a family of storm victims to “have a good time.”
He tossed paper towels to another group of victims, in a church, as if he were shooting basketball free throws.
He told a third group of victims that they don’t need flashlights any longer, though 90 per cent of the island was still without power.
He refused to speak to the mayor of San Juan.
And, as usual, Donald Trump congratulated himself.
Facing withering criticism for his delayed and then belligerent response to the Puerto Rican hurricane crisis, Trump’s Tuesday visit to San Juan was a chance to begin to repair the wounds he had caused over a week of tweeted insults.
Instead he casually tore them open, a smile on his face.
In a frequently abnormal afternoon on the island, Trump showed none of the scripted gravitas of his sombre Monday response to the massacre in Las Vegas. Speaking without notes, he behaved as if the ongoing crisis had long since been fixed by his own doing.
It was vintage Trump — informal, freewheeling, self-centred, detached from facts, wholly unlike the behaviour of any other modern president.
His supporters applauded again, pointing to his authenticity and moments of empathy. Puerto Ricans already upset with him before he landed were infuriated.
“He takes two weeks to visit a disaster zone where 3.5 million American citizens live. He arrives with a smile on his face, makes fun of the situation, shows no empathy, lies and lies on camera as he does 24-7. And then throws paper towel rolls to people in need as if he was playing Go Fetch with dogs,” said Joel Isaac, 27, a New York actor who moved from Puerto Rico three years ago.
Most of Isaac’s family is still on the island. He said he had never felt humiliated as a Puerto Rican until he watched Trump’s visit.
“It’s the whole scene where the privileged white man comes to save the brown peasants after they’ve been begging, thirsty and hungry. It’s super disgusting to see, honestly,” he said.
Trump began the day with a traditional kind of crisis event: a roundtable briefing with members of his Cabinet and Puerto Rican and military leaders. His presence and his response were applauded by Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello.
“I want to personally thank you, Mr. President, because over the course of the past week you have called essentially every day to make sure we have what we need, to make sure that the resources are over here,” Rossello said.
Trump, however, did nothing at the briefing to dispel criticism that he is not sincerely concerned about Puerto Ricans. In meandering remarks, he boasted about the F-35 warplanes the government is planning to procure, complimented pro-wrestling titan Vince McMahon and again grumbled about the cost of the rebuilding effort — this time suggesting Puerto Ricans themselves were at fault.
“Now, I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack,” he said. “Because we’ve spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico. And that’s fine. We’ve saved a lot of lives.”
Then he mused that Maria was different than “a real catastrophe like Katrina,” in which more than 1,800 people died.
“Sixteen people versus in the thousands. You can be very proud of all of your people, all of our people working together. Sixteen versus literally thousands of people,” he said.
Rossello announced soon after Trump’s departure that the official death toll was up to 34. The number was highly likely to keep rising. A journalist for San Juan’s Center for Investigative Journalism reported that at least dozens more had been killed.
Jeremy Konyndyk, chief of foreign disaster assistance under Barack Obama, wrote on Twitter: “THIS IS APPALLING. This is such a deeply wrong, deeply inappropriate, deeply disrespectful thing to say . . . that I hardly know where to start.”
Trump proceeded to a chapel, where he handed out bags of rice. In the manner of a basketball player, he also tossed up several packages of paper towel.
The pool reporter on scene said the crowd “enjoyed” Trump’s NBA impression. Other Puerto Ricans found the display disrespectful.
“Does he think this is a show? A game? The first reaction that I had: why is he throwing things to Puerto Ricans like we’re animals?” said Frances Alvarado, 55, a Puerto Rican in North Carolina whose husband has spent three decades in the navy. Of Trump’s performance as a whole, she said, “It’s shameful. It’s degrading. It’s insulting.”
Trump shook the hand of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, whom he has repeatedly disparaged as a poor leader and a Democratic partisan. Yulin Cruz said she told him, “This is about saving lives. It’s not about politics.”
As Trump’s motorcade passed, a lone protester held up a sign reading “You are a bad hombre.” He was greeted politely by the families he encountered on a brief neighbourhood walking tour, listening to one tell him about how they had been trapped in their house.
Trump ended the visit with some additional applause for himself.
“I think it meant a lot to the people of Puerto Rico that I was there. They really responded very nicely.
“And I guess it’s one of the few times anybody has done this. From what I am hearing, it’s the first time that a sitting president has done something like this,” he said.