So what is the actual situation on the ground on the island of Puerto Rico? Obviously, there is no small amount of devastation thanks to Hurricane Maria, which did incalculable damage earlier this month. Which brings us to the next question… What has the federal government’s response been to this crisis? More specifically, what has President Trump’s response been?
Well, according to Puerto Rico’s own governor, Ricardo Rosselló, he is quite satisfied and was on PBS less than 48 hours ago praising Trump’s attention and response to the crisis:
PBS’S OHN YANG: Governor, are you getting all the aid you need or getting it fast enough from the states?
GOV. RICARDO ROSSELLO: First of all, we are very grateful for the administration. They have responded quickly.
The president has been very attentive to the situation, personally calling me several times. FEMA and the FEMA director have been here in Puerto Rico twice. As a matter of fact, they were here with us today, making sure that all the resources in FEMA were working in conjunction with the central government.
We have been working together. We have been getting results. The magnitude of this catastrophe is enormous. This is going to take a lot of help, a lot of collaboration. So, my call is to congressmen and congresswomen to take action quickly and conclusively with an aid package for Puerto Rico.
Two days prior to that, the Associated Press reported on more praise and appreciation from Puerto Rico’s governor. What especially stands out is Rosselló’s praise for the administration’s pro-active pre-planning, and the island’s Resident Commission informing us that Puerto Rico has never received this kind of coordination before:
Rosselló and other officials praised the federal government for planning its response in detail before the storm hit, a contrast with what Puerto Rico has long seen as the neglect of 3.4 million Americans living in a territory without a vote in Congress or the electoral college.
“This is the first time we get this type of federal coordination,” said Resident Commission Jenniffer Gonzalez, Puerto Rico’s non-voting representative in Washington.
Pajamas Media has so much more, including a breakdown of the massive amount of supplies and resources already delivered.
Lest you think I am cherry-picking old news, Rosselló appeared just this morning on “The View,” and when asked directly about President Trump’s claim that the government is doing a “great job,” Rosselló again had only praise for Trump and for the relief efforts thus far, which he described as “very good” and “very effective.”
Moreover, Rosselló said that he has just requested additional resources to aid with some new logistical problems and those requests were immediately honored.
Here is the full video. Partial transcript below (emphasis added):
The president has been in contact with me almost on a daily basis. So he is aware of the devastation, and I thank him for issuing [pre-storm] emergency declarations … verbally, as the storm was hitting Puerto Rico. He has also given instructions to FEMA and other federal agencies to help Puerto Rico. So that effort is ongoing and it’s very good and it’s very effective. However, there are logistical threats we are facing … The logistical transportation of all the help we are receiving is becoming a kind of bottleneck. What we really need are some human resources, which we’ve requested and FEMA has established the corps of engineers and Special Forces from the DOD [Department of Defense] that are going to be coming to Puerto Rico so they can help…
The governor’s only apparent governmental concern was with a special aid package from Congress, which he obviously wants to see passed quickly.
So, in the face of all these inconvenient facts for a last-place, leftwing cable news network like CNN, what is left for them to do other than to fire off this kind of fake news:
CNN continues to enshrine its place forever as America’s laughingstock.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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