White House scrambles to show Trump cares about Puerto Rico
The Trump administration scrambled on Tuesday to show it wasnt snubbing Puerto Rico, with the White House trotting out officials to describe an aggressive federal response to Hurricane Marias devastation and President Donald Trump insisting hes gotten good marks for the relief efforts.
Trump and his aides have found themselves on the defensive for the presidents muted response to the latest storm, which devastated the island and left millions of American citizens without electricity, housing or running water.
White House officials have bristled at the contention that they were caught flat-footed by the severity of Maria, while Trump himself has been frustrated by the constant coverage on cable news about whether hes doing enough, administration officials said. Trump also appeared to be particularly sensitive to perceived criticism from Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello, who publicly called for more help from the federal government before later praising the president's efforts.
Id push back strongly on that notion. Its not accurate, one official said on Tuesday when asked about claims that Trump didnt act quickly to draw attention to the crisis, adding that the president and his team are in constant contact with federal agencies and first responders.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/26/trump-puerto-rico-response-243146