No ‘real catastrophe’ in Puerto Rico, Trump says
He still draws ire from some residents and lawmakers
During a tour of Puerto Rico on Tuesday, President Trump drew criticism for joking about the expense of the island’s recovery. He also said the island should be proud that only 16 people were killed in the storm. (Late Tuesday, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said the death toll had risen to 34.) Although “every death is a horror,” Trump said, the devastation has not been “a real catastrophe.”
While President Trump toured Puerto Rico on Tuesday to praise his team’s response to Hurricane Maria, some of his critics heard other things — including a joke about the expense of the effort and praise for the fact that only 16 people have died since the storm.
“Sixteen people certified — 16 people vs. in the thousands,” Trump said during a briefing with Puerto Rican officials; he added that while “every death is a horror,” the devastation has not been “a real catastrophe” on the same scale of Hurricane Katrina, which killed some 1,800 people in New Orleans in 2005.
Late Tuesday, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said 34 people were killed during the storm.
Citing the logistical and financial challenges of the federal disaster response on the island, Trump quipped: “Now I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack, but you’re throwing our budget a little out of whack because we’ve spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico. And that’s fine; we saved a lot of lives.”
Trump’s comments did not go over well with some lawmakers.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., hit Trump for having “the gall to complain about Puerto Rico” while he has proposed “tax cuts for billionaires.”
Schumer said, “Stop blaming Puerto Rico for the storm that devastated their shores, and roll up your sleeves and get the recovery on track.”
Trump got a frosty reception from some Puerto Rico residents.
On Sunday, Trump described critics of his government’s response to the disaster “politically motivated ingrates.” Some residents took issue with Trump’s tone. “People need water, gasoline and tarps, without the politics,” resident Liza Minnelli Pacheco told USA TODAY.
As Trump motorcaded around the island, he passed one woman who held up a sign, “You are a bad hombre.”
In one neighborhood Trump toured, where residents are rebuilding damaged homes, he told members of one family, “We’re going to help you out.”
At a church converted into a relief center, Trump handed out bags of “Arroz Rico” and tossed rolls of paper towels into the crowd.
The president spent more than four hours in Puerto Rico before returning to Washington, D.C.
Trump also confronted one of his critics on the island, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who has clashed with Trump over the pace of relief efforts.
As Air Force One headed for Puerto Rico, Cruz announced she would attend a briefing with the president and local leaders.
“I will use this opportunity to reiterate the primary message: This is about saving lives, not about politics,” Cruz said in a statement. “This is also about giving the people of Puerto Rico the respect we deserve; and recognizing the moral imperative to do both.”
In her complaints last week about the U.S. response, Cruz had objected to the acting Department of Homeland Security chief calling Puerto Rico relief a “good news story” while people were dying.
Trump accused Cruz of “poor leadership” in tweets over the weekend and said she was taking instructions from Democrats that she “be nasty to Trump.” In another missive, Trump said too many people in Puerto Rico “want everything to be done for them.”
In an interview with MSNBC on Saturday, Cruz said that she wasn’t being nasty to the president but that she was only “asking for help” for her constituents.
“This is a time when everyone shows their true colors,” Cruz said. “I will continue to do what I have to do, say what I have to say, compliment the people that I have to compliment, and call out the people that I need to call out.”
Speaking with reporters at the White House before his departure, Trump said Cruz has been more conciliatory in her more recent remarks, and “I think she’s come back a long way; I think it’s now acknowledged what a great job we’ve done, and people are looking at that.”