President Trump said Thursday that Puerto Rico’s roads and electrical grid were in poor condition prior to Hurricane Maria.
“‘Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making,’ says Sharyl Attkisson. A total lack of … accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes,” Trump tweeted Thursday morning.
“Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making.” says Sharyl Attkisson. A total lack of…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
…accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
Trump also warned that Puerto Rico will soon need to start helping itself. He tweeted that the federal government cannot keep Federal Emergency Management Agency employees and first responders on the island “forever.”
…We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
Trump has been defending the federal response to Hurricane Maria for weeks now, amid Democratic complaints that not enough was done to help people immediately after the storm. Trump has said several times that Puerto Rico’s shoddy infrastructure and $72 billion in debt set up the island territory for a tougher recovery.
Puerto Rico has been recovering from the Category 4 hurricane since it made landfall Sept. 20. Less than one-in-six people had power as of earlier this week and communications around the island are not expected to be fully restored until later this year.
