President Trump will travel to Puerto Rico next Tuesday to meet with local officials and survey the damage caused by Hurricane Maria, a disaster some claim he has paid insufficient attention to while criticizing NFL players for protesting the national anthem.
Trump told reporters Tuesday he can’t travel to the U.S. territory until next week because the island is “literally destroyed.” He said he may also visit the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were left devastated after Hurricane Irma passed through earlier this month.
“I am going to Puerto Rico on Tuesday. It’s the earliest I can go because of the first responders and we don’t want to disrupt relief efforts,” the president said during a tax reform meeting with members of the House Ways and Means Committee.
While touting his administration’s response to communities in Texas and Florida that were devastated by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Trump said the government will also receive “A-pluses” on its disaster relief response in Puerto Rico.
“But the difference is this is an island in the middle of the ocean. It’s a big ocean, it’s very big ocean. And we’re doing a really good job,” he said, He said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has “shipped massive amounts of food and water and supplies” to the U.S. territory “and we are continuing to do it on an hourly basis.”
FEMA has dispatched hundreds of personnel to conduct search-and-rescue missions and deliver fresh water, food and cell phones to communities that were ravaged by the Category 5 storm. Local officials have described the damage as “apocalyptic,” noting that nearly all of the island remains without power.
“The island is devastated. I read this morning it’s literally destroyed. The infrastructure is in bad shape… So you’re really starting from almost scratch,” Trump said Tuesday, adding that Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has “done a terrific job [and] been very generous about what he’s said about the relief efforts.”
“The FEMA folks have worked so hard. We thought after Texas, they could take a little bit of a rest. But what they have done is incredible,” he added.
Trump’s upcoming visit comes as he has faces significant backlash for condemning players in the National Football League for organizing protests during performances of the national anthem.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired,'” Trump said at a rally in Alabama over the weekend.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders defended Trump’s comments on Monday, saying “it’s always appropriate for the president of the United States to defend our flag, to defend our national anthem and to defend the men and women who fought and died to defend it.”
