President Donald trump continued his ridicule of Puerto Rico this morning via a series of tweets that say America's relief effort may be leaving the US territory shortly. He tweeted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), first responders, and the military cannot stay in Puerto Rico--which is currently rebuilding itself after being destroyed by Hurricane Maria weeks ago--forever.
He quoted Sharyl Attkisson, a television journalist, who said Puerto Rico survived the hurricanes and their economic crisis is now of their own making. Additionally, Trump stated again the territory had a poor infrastructure and economic crisis prior to the hurricane.
Congress will be deciding shortly how more relief effort will be sent to the US territory, according to the president.
...We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
...accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
The island of 3.4 million US citizens is still mostly without power since Hurricane Maria made landfall three weeks ago, according to the Washington Post. Resources such as clean water, gasoline, and medicine are a struggle to obtain.
Trump has repeatedly stated the island is on its way to a full recovery because of the national guard, FEMA, and other federal relief efforts.
Trump's visit
While visiting Puerto Rico last week, Trump threw items such as paper towels into a crowd of citizens in need of the supplies.The president also expressed frustration over the debt Hurricane Maria's relief caused America and the poor state of the territory's infrastructure.
According to the Washington Post, the House will vote this Thursday on a $36.5 billion disaster relief package. The package includes aid for Puerto Rico should it enter a cash crisis. Without this funding, the US territory may be unable to make payroll at the end of the month.
Mayor of San Juan
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz has been a target of Trump's ridicule and criticism after she accused him of not providing sufficient and timely relief aid.
Trump responded by tweeting the mayor has "poor leadership" on Twitter two weeks ago. According to the Hill, Cruz said she does not care what the president has to say about her and will continue helping her citizens.
...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. They....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
Last weekend, Cruz accused FEMA of not responding to the territory's recent calls for help, according to the Hill. FEMA Administrator Brock Long responded to this accusation on Sunday, saying FEMA, "filtered out the mayor a long time ago" because it does not have time for political noise.
