Trump: 'Great Job' on 'Impossible Situation' in Puerto Rico

As Lin-Manuel Miranda says president is 'going straight to hell'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 1, 2017 8:25 AM CDT
Trump: 'Great Job' on 'Impossible Situation' in Puerto Rico
Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz speaks with a man as she arrives at San Francisco hospital in the Rio Piedras area of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, as about 35 patients are evacuated after the failure of an electrical plant.    (Carlos Giusti)

President Trump says his administration has "done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico" after Hurricane Maria struck the island. He's going after what he calls "politically motivated ingrates" and says "people are now starting to recognize the amazing work" by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the military, reports the AP. The tweets coming from a president ensconced in his New Jersey golf club sought to defend Washington's efforts to mobilize and coordinate recovery efforts on a US territory in dire straits almost two weeks after Maria. Trump's critical response was an unusually pointed rebuke from the president in the heat of a disaster—a time when leaders often put aside partisan differences in the name of solidarity. But it was a reminder of Trump's unrelenting penchant for punching back against critics, whatever the circumstances.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz on Friday accused the Trump administration of "killing us with the inefficiency" after the storm. She begged the president, who is set to visit Puerto Rico on Tuesday, to "make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives," and appealed for help "to save us from dying." Another person swinging at the president, per CNN: Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose parents are from Puerto Rico. "You're going straight to hell, @realDonaldTrump," he tweeted. "No long lines for you. Someone will say, 'Right this way, sir.' They'll clear a path." Miranda also came to the defense of Yulin Cruz, tweeting, "She has been working 24/7. You have been GOLFING. You're going straight to hell. Fastest golf cart you ever took." (More Puerto Rico stories.)

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