President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his administration’s response to the hurricane disaster in Puerto Rico, accusing local officials of wasting billions of dollars.
“Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before, & all their local politicians do is complain & ask for more money,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The president expressed his frustration that a Senate bill to provide relief to farmers and send additional money to Puerto Rico failed to pass in the Senate.
The Republican bill provided $13 billion in aid, including money for victims of the flooding in the midwest and $600 million for Puerto Rico’s food stamp program. But Democrats voted against that bill, favoring a $14.2 billion aid bill including $703 million for Medicaid and food stamps in Puerto Rico.
Trump blasted local Puerto Rico officials for wasting emergency aid dollars.
“Puerto Rico got far more money than Texas & Florida combined, yet their government can’t do anything right, the place is a mess – nothing works,” Trump said.
He fired back at Puerto Rico political figures such as San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz who continue to blame the president for the slow recovery of the island.
“FEMA & the Military worked emergency miracles, but politicians like the crazed and incompetent Mayor of San Juan have done such a poor job of bringing the Island back to health,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “The people of Puerto Rico are GREAT, but the politicians are incompetent or corrupt.”
Trump accused Democrats for sending more money to Puerto Rico at the expense of emergency aid to Midwest farmers.
“The best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump. So many wonderful people, but with such bad Island leadership and with so much money wasted,” he wrote. “Cannot continue to hurt our Farmers and States with these massive payments, and so little appreciation!”
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