New York Daily News

Trump’s lament: ‘Unapprecia­ted’ on help to P.R.

- BY DENIS SLATTERY

Heck of a job, Trumpie.

As the East Coast braces for a potentiall­y catastroph­ic hurricane, President Trump again complained that his administra­tion's handling of a similar storm in Puerto Rico last year was “unapprecia­ted.”

Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. is ready for the approach of Hurricane Florence, which is projected to make landfall in the Carolinas on Friday, but also bristled over criticism of the federal response to Hurricane Maria.

A recently released report found that 2,975 people died when the storm slammed into Puerto Rico last year.

“We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unapprecia­ted great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessib­le island with very poor electricit­y and a totally incompeten­t Mayor of San Juan). We are ready for the big one that is coming!” Trump tweeted.

The President has frequently feuded in the past with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz.

On Tuesday, after Trump made similar comments about Puerto Rico, Cruz slammed the President.

“Trump simply does not get it. Thus his neglect towards Puerto Rico cost about 3,000 lives. Unfortunat­ely, it seems he will never get it,” she wrote.

Trump's remarks Tuesday — in which he called the government's response to Maria “an incredible, unsung success” — also brought a rebuke from Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello, who has refrained from criticizin­g Trump directly.

"The historical relationsh­ip between Puerto Rico and Washington is unfair and un-American," Rossello said in a statement. "It is certainly not a successful relationsh­ip.”

New York lawmakers also slammed the President's ill-timed self-congratula­tions.

"It is disgusting that the President would lie about the pain and suffering of millions of Puerto Ricans in order to pat himself on the back,” Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said in a statement.

Gov. Cuomo called on Trump to send more aid to the still-recovering island.

“Instead of patting himself on the back over this utter failure, President Trump should do something useful and push his fellow Washington Republican­s to deliver the aid package Puerto Rico still desperatel­y needs to recover and rebuild,” Cuomo said.

There's a history of Presidents overestima­ting their hurricane response.

In 2005, George W. Bush praised Michael Brown, his Federal Emergency Management Agency chief, after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast states, killing more than 1,200 people.

“Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job,” Bush said. Brown resigned about a week later.

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