Puerto Rico Governor Shoots Down Trump As He Begs For Compliments On Hurricane Response

Trump tried to fish for a compliment on the hurricane response from Gov. Ricardo Rossello but instead was completely shut down.

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Transcript as provided to PoliticusUSA by the White House:

THE PRESIDENT: Governor, I just want to maybe ask you a question. Because for the spirit of these people that have worked so hard and so long, like Tom and like Brock, and like so many others, did the United States — did our government — when we came in, did we do a great job? Military, first responders, FEMA — did we do a great job?

GOVERNOR ROSSELLÓ: You responded immediately, sir. And you did so — Tom and Brock, they have been on the phone with me essentially every day since the disaster. We recognize that there are some logistical limitations that we have in Puerto Rico. We didn’t have the ports open for a couple of days. We didn’t have the airports working at full capacity until about a day or two ago.

So that was always a very limiting step. Buy if you consider that we’ve gotten — even with those obstacles — we’ve gotten about 15,000 DOD personnel in Puerto Rico, about 2,000 FEMA personnel, HHS and others — the response is there. Do we need to do a lot more? Of course, we do. And I think everybody over here recognizes there’s a lot of work to be done in Puerto Rico. But with your leadership, sir, and with everybody over here, we’re committed to achieving that in the long run.

That was not the answer that Donald Trump was looking for. Trump wanted to hear. Trump wanted to hear that he did a great job and the problem was solved. What he got was the most lukewarm response imaginable that was on par with, well you did respond to us. You may not have given us any aid for weeks, but hey, at least you responded.

It is embarrassing to watch the President Of The United States be so insecure that he fishes for compliments from other leaders. It is a reminder that America is being governed by a neurotic toddler when the country needs a president.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association