San Juan mayor: Relief effort not about Trump’s ‘petty comments’
San Juan Mayor tells @JoyAnnReid: "This isn't about me. This isn't about anyone. This is about lives that are being lost." pic.twitter.com/fKUrTC47yf
— David Mack (@davidmackau) September 30, 2017
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz responded to an attack from President Trump on Saturday, saying the hurricane relief effort is not about politics or “petty comments.”
{mosads}”It’s not about politics, it’s not about petty comments, it’s about moving forward, putting boots on the ground and saving lives,” Cruz told MSNBC’s Joy Reid on “AM Joy.”
Cruz’s comments come after the president took to Twitter on Saturday, claiming that Democrats told Cruz to attack Trump and slamming her for “poor leadership.”
The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
…Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017
“Actually, I was asking for help. I wasn’t saying anything nasty about the president,” Cruz responded.
“This is a time when everyone shows their true colors. I have no time for distractions. All I have is time for people to move forward, to get help,” she continued.
“I will continue to do what I have to do, say what I have to say, compliment the people that I have to compliment, and call out the people that I need to call out,” Cruz added.
Trump’s attacks on Cruz come after she issued an emotional plea for help on Friday and criticized the federal government’s aid effort as inefficient.
“The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, sharply rebuked the Trump administration’s efforts to aid the island in the wake of Hurricane Maria, and delivered an emotional plea to “anyone who can hear us to save us all,” Cruz said.
Puerto Ricans are struggling to recover after Hurricane Maria slammed into the island, leaving its residents without power.
The U.S. has sent aid including food, water, medicine and generators, but Puerto Rican officials have warned the response has been too slow to prevent a humanitarian crisis.
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