Trump gives himself a ‘10’ for P.R. response
PRESIDENT TRUMP gave himself a pretty big pat on the back on Thursday when asked about his handling of recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.
“I would give myself a 10” out of 10, Trump said when asked how he would score his response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria.
“I think we’ve done a really great job and we’ve had tremendous cooperation from the governor and we are getting there and people are really seeing the effort that’s been put into Puerto Rico,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló.
The self-applied high marks are at odds with what critics say was a bungled response by federal officials in the wake of the Category 5 storm.
Trump tweeted last week that Washington can not keep aiding Puerto Rico “forever.”
As of Thursday, 80% of the island had no electricity and large areas were still without access to clean water nearly a month after the storm hit.
Rosselló said the death stood at 48.
“In these emergencies, things might have the appearance that they are stabilizing at one point, but you always have future problems that can arise such as public health emergencies and otherwise,” Rosselló told reporters.
“We really want to take all of the big picture.”
Rosselló carefully dodged Trump’s questions about the federal response while the pair sat toll surrounded by press and FEMA officials. He listed off a number of actions Trump took to help before artfully asking the President to stay the course.
“Mr. President, we’ll be able to come out of this in the long haul together with Puerto Rico. Give the citizens of Puerto Rico the adequate resources,” he said. “Treat us the same as citizens in Texas and Florida and elsewhere. We will come out of this stronger.”
Trump said he has given his blessing to Congress for a funding plan, but adds that the governor “understands that these folks can’t be there forever.”
Rosselló said Trump “has been clear that no U.S. citizen will be left behind.”
Trump faced a firestorm of criticism for spending a long weekend at one of his golf resorts in the days after Maria hit.
While the President praised his administration’s response, local officials in the U.S. territory began blasting the White House for a lack of aid.
Trump issued several tweets in the wake of the storm that appeared to blame Puerto Ricans for not doing more to help themselves.
The mayor of the island’s capital has strongly denounced what she has called an inadequate federal response to Maria, and hit Trump last Friday, saying, “It’s conduct unbecoming of a leader of the free world,” San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz said on NBC, referring to Trump’s earlier tweets on the crisis.
A CNN poll released earlier this week found that Trump’s approval rating for handling the response to recent hurricanes dropped 20 points after Maria.