Poll: Trump approval on hurricane response down 20 points after Puerto Rico

President Trump’s approval rating on his response to hurricanes has dropped 20 points since a devastating storm slammed into Puerto Rico, a CNN poll released Monday finds.

In September, 64 percent approved of Trump’s hurricane response after Harvey and Irma hit the U.S. mainland. But now just 44 percent approve, after a third storm, Hurricane Maria, ravaged the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

Much of the island is still without electricity or clean drinking water.

The poll found Trump’s approval on his response down 9 points among Republicans, 22 points among independents and 25 points among Democrats.

{mosads}

Trump has sparked controversy by blasting local Puerto Rican officials for their response and suggesting that the island do more to bear the burden of recovery.

In one tweet, he said that U.S. could not keep FEMA and military response teams there “forever.”

Following a backlash, Trump praised the people of Puerto Rico and blamed many problems on conditions before the storm.

“The wonderful people of Puerto Rico, with their unmatched spirit, know how bad things were before the H’s. I will always be with them!,” he tweeted.

Trump visited the island a week after the storm hit. 

During a wide-ranging Rose Garden press conference Monday, Trump defended the federal response to Puerto Rico and said many problems with distributing aid supplies on the ground were because of local issues.