President Trump condemned the leadership of Puerto Rico as thousands of people on the island territory take to the streets calling for Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to resign.
In a pair of tweets Thursday, Trump lamented all the “bad things” in Puerto Rico, including political rival Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, and government corruption.
“A lot of bad things are happening in Puerto Rico. The Governor is under siege, the Mayor of San Juan is a despicable and incompetent person who I wouldn’t trust under any circumstance, and the United States Congress foolishly gave 92 Billion Dollars for hurricane relief, much of which was squandered away or wasted, never to be seen again,” Trump said. “This is more than twice the amount given to Texas & Florida combined. I know the people of Puerto Rico well, and they are great. But much of their leadership is corrupt, & robbing the U.S. Government blind!”
For the better part of a week, the calls for Rosselló to resign have grown after hundreds of pages of misogynistic and homophobic private chat messages between the governor and his top advisers leaked. Among the high-profile celebrities who have joined the demonstrations in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the United States are Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda and singer Ricky Martin, who was the subject of some of the messages.
Rosselló has apologized for the messages but refuses to step down.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Puerto Rico, which is stuck in a economic recession and debt crisis, got over $90 million in aid after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island in 2017. Politifact has deemed this false.
