President Donald Trump is under fire Saturday morning for lashing out on Twitter at the mayor of San Juan, who on Friday raised major concerns about the Trump administration's slow action and misleading commentary regarding Hurricane Maria relief efforts in Puerto Rico.
In a series of tweets, the president purported that unidentified Democrats had told the Puerto Rican official "you must be nasty to Trump." He also claimed "the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico" had demonstrated "poor leadership ability."
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
The backlash on social media was swift:
You're going straight to hell, @realDonaldTrump.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) September 30, 2017
No long lines for you.
Someone will say, "Right this way, sir."
They'll clear a path. https://t.co/xXfJH0KJmw
And just like that, Trump paints himself as the victim in Puerto Rico crisis. https://t.co/yasJK71WPW
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 30, 2017
Doesn't matter if you're desperate & dying -- if Trump feels criticized, he will lash out. His tweets re: Puerto Rico are cruel & inhuman.
— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) September 30, 2017
Trump's tweets about Puerto Rico today show again that we are dealing with a narcissistic sociopath, a clinically deranged individual. This is not normal politics. And it is very dangerous.
— Jeffrey D. Sachs (@JeffDSachs) September 30, 2017
The disaster unfolding in Puerto Rico will be Trump's Katrina. His lack of response, then tweets attacking Puerto Ricans will live in infamy
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) September 30, 2017
Speaking to CNN on Friday, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz had expressed shock at the Trump's administration claims that Puerto Rico's recovery from the devastating hurricane is "a good news story," and made headlines for saying: "When you're drinking from a creek, it's not a good news story. When you don't have food for a baby, it's not a good news story.... Damnit, this is not a good news story. This is a people-are-dying story," as Common Dreams reported.
The president and his team have been broadly criticized for the federal government's slow reaction to the growing humanitarian crisis, with some critics already deeming this Trump's Hurricane Katrina, in reference to former President George W. Bush's botched response to the disastrous hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast in 2005.
Currently in Puerto Rico, most the of island has no electricity—which could take up to six months to fully restore—and nearly half of its more than 3 million residents lack clean drinking water. Food and fuel supplies are critically low, and many are warning that Americans of the U.S. commonwealth will continue to die unless the federal government ramps up its relief efforts.
