After President Trump accused her of “poor leadership” in post-hurricane rescue-and-relief efforts, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz replied saying that anything other than saving lives in Puerto Rico is a distraction.
“The goal is one: saving lives. This is the time to show our ‘true colors’. We cannot be distracted by anything else,” she tweeted Saturday, along with photos of herslef on the forefront of rescue operations.
The goal is one: saving lives. This is the time to show our “true colors”. We cannot be distracted by anything else. pic.twitter.com/7PAINk19xM
— Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) September 30, 2017
Trump lashed out at Cruz on Twitter earlier in the morning, suggesting that she succumbed to Democratic pressure to be “nasty” to him.
“The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump,” Trump said.
He pinned blame on Cruz and “others” on the U.S. territory for failing to get Puerto Rican workers to contribute to what Trump said should be a “community effort.”
“Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help,” he tweeted. “They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.”
The president then complimented the military and first responders “despite no electric, roads, phones etc.,” saying that they “have done an amazing job” in helping with the relief efforts despite Puerto Rico being “totally destroyed.”
He also condemned “fake news” CNN and NBC for “going out of their way to disparage our great First Responders as a way to ‘get Trump.'”
Officials are still struggling with provided food, water, and other relief to people on the island after it was decimated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria; the latter made a direct landfall as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 20. Parts of Puerto Rico may not see power returned for six months. At least 16 people have died in connection to Maria, and that number is expected to rise.
Trump is scheduled to visit Puerto Rico on Tuesday.
