Dem senator slams Trump’s Puerto Rico remark: ‘What’s out of whack’ is your response

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) fired back at President Trump’s comments in Puerto Rico on Tuesday about the cost associated with hurricane relief efforts.

Trump, during a meeting in San Juan, told Puerto Rican officials that the relief effort following Hurricane Maria had “thrown our budget a little out of whack.”

“No, what’s ‘out of whack’ is leaving millions of American citizens without power, clean water, or fuel for two weeks,” Blumenthal responded on Twitter.

No, what’s “out of whack” is leaving millions of American citizens without power, clean water, or fuel for two weeks. https://t.co/optyVTpxI5

— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 3, 2017

{mosads}

Critics have slammed Trump’s comments, with Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) saying he wishes the president would “stop talking about money” and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) telling Trump to “stop with the blame game.”

“I don’t remember the president telling Texas that they threw our budget out of whack after Harvey,” Schumer said. “Or Florida after Irma.”

Trump’s comments came while discussing relief efforts with a number of officials. 

“I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack because we spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico, and that’s fine,” Trump said, noting the cost of hurricane relief. “We saved a lot of lives.”  

Trump also said Tuesday that Puerto Rico’s governor should be “very proud” that the death toll after Hurricane Maria was 16, not like the much higher death toll from Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005.

“Sixteen versus literally thousands of people. You can be very proud,” Trump said.