Donald Trump attacked the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulin Cruz, on twitter today. The mayor has criticized the Trump administration for allegedly neglecting to provide aid, expeditiously, to the suffering people in Puerto Rico. The island is still dealing with the aftermath of two hurricanes, Irma and Maria, and the relief has been very slow. Because of the slow relief, the mayor explicitly condemned the Trump administration, which caused Trump to strike back.
The Mayor is upset with the Trump administration
In response to the Trump administration alleging that the recovery in Puerto Rico was a "good news story", the Mayor of San Juan stated, on CNN, "We are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency and the bureaucracy." She went on to say that the aid was nominal.
She said, "This is what we got last night: four pallets of water, three pallets of meals and 12 pallets of infant food — which I gave them to the people of Comerio, where people are drinking off a creek, so I am done being polite. I am done being politically correct. I am mad as hell." The mayor argued that people are dying because of the lethargic response from the Trump Administration. However, after this criticism, Trump decided to send a series of tweets condemning Puerto Rico and the Mayor.
Donald Trump rebukes the Mayor of San Juan in a series of tweets
Donald Trump, who cannot tolerate any form of criticism or dissension, decided to use his favorite platform, Twitter, to attack the Mayor of San Juan for daring to dissent.
Early this morning, he tweeted the below tweets condemning the Mayor of San Juan, accusing her of "poor leadership."
The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
...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
...want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
In classic Trump fashion, he insults a victim of the storm simply because she had the audacity to demand the U.S.
do more to save its own citizens. While Trump alleges that the major issue slowing down the relief in Puerto Rico is it being surrounded by so much water; he still manages to take the time to praise himself for the efforts of his administration. According to CNN, Puerto Rico is suffering from loss of power, limited water, limited food supply, limited gas for vehicles, and a lot of property are completely destroyed.
More devastating is that it is alleged that at least 25 people have died while Trump continues to attack the leadership in Puerto Rico.
The mayor is right. The Trump administration's efforts have been anemic. The U.S. hasn't provided swift aid to one of its' own territories. The people of Puerto Rico are American citizens deserving of the same universal response received in Florida and Texas. There is no excuse for the delay in offering aid, not even the water surrounding the Island. If Trump wants to exercise real leadership, he should get off of twitter, stop the erratic attacks on the Mayor of San Juan, and get to work ensuring that American citizens are protected and receive the relief they need.