CNN’s John King: Trump turned Puerto Rico visit into ‘a love fest for him’

CNN host John King on Tuesday mocked President Trump during his visit to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, saying Trump tried to turn the trip into “a love fest for him and his team.” 

The commentary comes after Trump praised federal and local officials for their response to Hurricane Maria while speaking to reporters in San Juan.

“I think it’s now acknowledged what a great job we’ve done, and people are looking at that,” Trump said.

{mosads}

“And in Texas and in Florida, we get an A-plus. And I’ll tell you what, I think we’ve done just as good in Puerto Rico, and it’s actually a much tougher situation. But now the roads are cleared, communications is starting to come back. We need their truck drivers to start driving trucks.”

During his weekly program, “Inside Politics,” King remarked that “this president is unique.”

“We have seen this time and time again. He communicates in a unique way and loves to be told, and said it himself, that ‘I’m doing a great job,'” King said. 

“It was remarkable. I guess, can somebody explain why he does things this way?” a vexed King asked his panel. 

King also criticized the president for attacking the media over its coverage of the Puerto Rico disaster.

“Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates, people are now starting to recognize the amazing work that has been done by [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] and our great Military,” Trump tweeted over the weekend.

We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico. Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates,…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2017

…people are now starting to recognize the amazing work that has been done by FEMA and our great Military. All buildings now inspected…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2017

“The president said it’s fake news and political ingrates who are telling you things are not going as well as they are,” King said.  

“No. The pictures our team of reporters are showing are not fake news.”

The president will return to Washington from Puerto Rico on Tuesday evening and travel to Las Vegas on Wednesday to visit with victims of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, which left at least 59 dead and more than 520 wounded.