‘Let him tweet. I don’t mind. I’m too busy,’ says target of president’s anger
THE mayor of Puerto Rico’s hurricanehit capital San Juan has shrugged off an attack by Donald Trump – telling the US president that she is too busy to listen to him.
“Let him tweet,” said Carmen Yulin Cruz, speaking to The Daily Telegraph while marshalling forklift trucks of aid inside a sports centre. “I don’t mind. I’m too busy.”
She paused for a second, turned and smiled. “Plus I don’t have internet most of the time, so I can’t get hold of the tweets.”
Mrs Yulin, 54, has found herself in the eye of this second storm, which started more than a week after Hurricane Maria razed much of her island on September 20.
On Friday, tears in her eyes, she begged Washington to send more assistance, saying: “You’re killing us with inefficiency.”
Mr Trump hit back – claiming she had been told by Democrats in Washington to be “nasty to Trump”.
“Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help,” he tweeted on Saturday. “They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.”
Critics of Mr Trump immediately pointed out a photo, which went viral on social media, showing Mrs Yulin – currently sleeping in the sports centre – wading through waist-high water, loud hailer in hand, to urge citizens to obey an evacuation order.
“I got a text,” she explained. “It just said ‘SOS, Ocean Park.’ So I just went there, and called all the resources – all the medics. Then we did what we do best. We went home to home. A lot of people don’t want to leave their homes – they worry about looting.
So we try to convince them.” Jose Andres, the Spanish-american celebrity chef – who pulled out of running a restaurant in the Trump Hotel in Washington after Mr Trump denigrated Mexicans – sprang to her defence.
“If I was @realdonaldtrump I would not attack a leader that has worked non-stop for her people,” he tweeted. But yesterday Mr Trump renewed his attacks once more, lashing out at “politically motivated ingrates”. He also announced that “all buildings now inspected for safety” – a somewhat incongruous claim when parts of the island are still cut off, and with thousands having lost their homes.
Mrs Yulin – who cast herself during her 2012 election campaign as a “pitirre,” a small bird known for fearlessly attacking larger ones – was undeterred.
“I have time for one thing,” she said. “My mission is clear. Opening paths. And I’ll do and say what I need to.”
Yesterday the majority of the island remained without power. Mrs Yulin is in talks with Venezuela to bring in diesel – breaking off her interview with The Daily Telegraph mid-conversation to take a call from Caracas.
Mr Trump has been fiercely criticised at home for the slow response to the crisis. But, during a weekend spent at his New Jersey golf course, he was at pains to present himself in control of the situation. The White House even issued a “readout” of Mr Trump’s call with the former governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fontuno, praising his efforts. Mr Fortuno lost his seat in 2012 and now lives in Washington.
Mr Trump’s arrival on the island tomorrow, Mrs Yulin said, can bring positive changes. “It’s an opportunity for a good visit. Look people in the eyes. Stop and touch people. But unscripted. He needs to see what is going on.”
Her row with Mr Trump puts her at odds with Ricardo Rossello, the governor of the island, who has been supportive of the president, and was described as a “great guy” in return. Mr Rossello campaigned for Puerto Rico to become a full state, while Mrs Yulin heads a movement for greater independence. But she insists they are working well through the crisis.
“He’s a good man… We have different perspectives on how things should be done, but we’re both focused on one thing – and that’s saving lives,” she said.
“I think the world needs to grow up a bit. We think that only if we agree 100 per cent can we work together. That’s nonsense.”
She said the lingering chaos in her city had left her shocked. “And I am shocked that it needs to be explained to some people,” she said. “I’m shocked that human suffering needs to be digested. But it is what it is, so we push on.”