- The Washington Times - Thursday, July 18, 2019

President Trump tore into the “bad things” caused by the Puerto Rican government Thursday after leaked text messages have led to almost a week of protests calling for Governor Ricardo Rosselló to resign.

“A lot of bad things are happening in Puerto Rico,” the president tweeted, “The Governor is under siege, the Mayor of San Juan [Carmen Yulín Cruz] is a despicable and incompetent person who I wouldn’t trust under any circumstance.”

“The United States Congress foolishly gave 92 Billion Dollars for hurricane relief, much of which was squandered away or wasted, never to be seen again. This is more than twice the amount given to Texas & Florida combined,” he said.

“I know the people of Puerto Rico well, and they are great. But much of their leadership is corrupt, & robbing the U.S. Government blind,” the president added.

Mr. Rosselló previously said in March, referencing the president, he was willing to “punch the bully in the mouth” for the island to receive adequate disaster relief from Hurricane Maria in 2017.

The U.S. territory has seen a surge of vocal protests after an investigative journalism outlet published hundreds of leaked texts between Mr. Rosselló and his main advisers, including misogynistic language, homophobic slurs directed toward journalists and pop singer Ricky Martin, and jokes joking about shooting Ms. Cruz.

Mr. Rosselló apologized for the texts but has refused to step down as governor.

• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.

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