President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump touched down in Puerto Rico today. The first couple visited the area around San Juan to meet with victims of the storm and see how they are doing after attending a briefing meeting with local officials at the airport.
Trump praised emergency responders on the ground in San Juan and told them "You can be very proud".
President Trump also took time to meet up with San Juan Mayor Ms Yulin Cruz, who was very critical of him over the weekend. The two were seen shaking hands but the President did not respond to her criticism in his remarks afterwards.
The president said at the hangar briefing: “Now, I hate to tell you Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little bit out of whack. Because we’ve spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico. And that’s fine, we’ve saved a lot of lives.”
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I love watching our <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> asking people in Puerto Rico questions<br>He is so personable!<br>He’s asking specific questions on their home damage. <a href="https://t.co/yjuKeBtnLC">pic.twitter.com/yjuKeBtnLC</a></p>— Citizen Dale (@Trumptbird) <a href="https://twitter.com/Trumptbird/status/915266862375751680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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FEMA Administrator Brock Long was praised especially, grading him "A+" for recent relief efforts in Texas and Florida. "Brock has been unbelievable," President Trump commented, before adding that Puerto Rico's recovery "has been the toughest one."
When asked about a comparison to rescue efforts in Texas and Florida, President Trump correctly pointed out the strength of the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico "a Category Five, which few people have ever even heard of, hit land and, boy, did it hit land."
Nearly two weeks after hurricane Irma hit the island of Puerto Rico, some 95 percent of electricity customers are still without power, as well as several hospitals. Much of the countryside is difficult to reach because of debris on the roads and residents are struggling to access basic necessities fresh water and cash.
However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency claims there are already more than 10,000 federal officials on the ground on the island and businesses are slowly beginning to re-open.
Source:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-travels-hurricane-ravaged-puerto-rico-n807106
