San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz blasted President Trump on Tuesday for calling his administration’s response to last year’s deadly hurricane in Puerto Rico a “success.”
Cruz, who has repeatedly clashed with Trump, pointed to the government’s recent acknowledgment that nearly 3,000 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria.
“Success? Federal response according to Trump in Puerto Rico a success?” she tweeted. “If he thinks the death of 3,000 people [is] a success God help us all.”
Her tweet came shortly after Trump touted the federal response to Hurricane Maria while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday as the East Coast braces for Hurricane Florence.
{mosads}”The job that FEMA, and law enforcement and everybody did working along with the governor in Puerto Rico, I think was tremendous,” Trump said, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “I think that Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success.”
Trump has repeatedly boasted about his administration’s response to hurricane devastation in Puerto Rico, saying last year that he’d give himself a “10” on the efforts.
The Trump administration was widely criticized for its response in the U.S. territory, with many accusing the federal government of not dedicating enough resources to the island in comparison to Florida and Texas, which were also hit by major hurricanes in 2017.