Donald Trump spends 67th day at his golf resort while Puerto Rico struggles with hurricane devastation
While Puerto Rico’s infrastructure lies in tatters and food and medicine shortages endanger survivors on the hurricane-stricken island, Donald Trump appears to have been busy practicising his favourite pastime.
The US President started his day at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster in New Jersey. This is the billionaire businessman’s 67th day at a golf course and 87th day at a Trump property since becoming president.
President Trump, who has spent a substantial proportion of his presidency teeing off, regularly rebuked Barack Obama for playing too much golf but has radically outpaced his predecessor.
“Trump starts his day at Trump Nat'l Golf Club in NJ. This is his 67th day at a golf course, 87th day at a Trump property as president,” said Kyle Griffin, a producer for MSNBC’s The Last Word.
The President claimed San Juan mayor Yulin Cruz had been told by the Democrats to be “nasty” to him, before accusing her of “poor leadership ability”, in a tweet composed from his golf course after waking up.
“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,” he wrote.
“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,” he continued. “They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.”
The world leader has sought to defend his administration’s response to the recent hurricane in Puerto Rico by explaining that the island is “surrounded by water”.
He added that local governments had been “totally and unfortunately unable to handle this catastrophic crisis on their own – just totally unable to.”
Ms Cruz broke down in an interview just days ago while describing the humanitarian crisis on the island, saying: “People are starting to die.”
During a press conference on Friday, Ms Cruz said: “I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out logistics for a small island.
“I am asking the President of the United States to make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives,” she added, warning that “if we don’t get the food and water into peoples' hands what we are going to see is something close to a genocide”.
The tragedy unfolding in Puerto Rico prompted few mentions from President Trump in the days after Hurricane Maria despite him tweeting about numerous other subjects.
Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico last week, killing at least 16 people and knocking out 80 per cent of the island’s electricity. Almost all of the island’s 3.4 million residents are living without power, and even hospitals are relying on generators to keep the lights on.
Already plagued with logistics, communications and supply issues, the country is expected to see heavy rain this weekend that could further impede recovery efforts for its 3.4 million residents.
