Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said Tuesday that President Trump’s comments lacked “sensitivity.”
“It doesn’t make you feel good,” Ms. Cruz, Democratic mayor of San Juan, said on CNN.
The president was in Puerto Rico today to assess the damage and meet with local officials. The island is still in a lengthy recovery process after Hurricane Maria made landfall nearly two weeks ago leaving much of the island without power or essential supplies.
Ms. Cruz said that Mr. Trump’s comment about Puerto Rico throwing “our budget out of whack” wasn’t something the people of her city wanted to hear.
“It doesn’t make you feel good,” she said. “I would hope that the president of the United States stops spouting out comments that really hurt the people of Puerto Rico because rather than commander-in-chief he sorta becomes mis-communicator-in-chief.”
Ms. Cruz did say that after meeting with the president’s staff she feels they realize how dire the situation is and how much more there is to be done. When asked if she felt Mr. Trump would do more to help she said she hoped so.
“I sure hope so but you know sometimes his foul communication gets in the way,” she said.
Ms. Cruz has been very critical of the administration’s response to the crisis and slammed acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke for saying Puerto Rico was a “good news story.”
“Dammit, this is not a good news story,” Ms. Cruz said Friday on CNN. “This is a people-are-dying story.”
Mr. Trump accused Ms. Cruz of having “poor leadership” but both have rolled back their comments. Ms. Cruz said she wants to focus on helping the people in Puerto Rico and not politics.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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