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U.S. NEWS Monday 2 october 2017
Trump calls out ‘politically motivated ingrates’ after Maria

Continued from Front grocery and big box stores,
and more than 60 percent
Trump, meanwhile, ap- of retail gas stations open
peared unconcerned with for business.
the optics of spending his FEMA chief Brock Long said
Sunday afternoon watch- the agency has worked to
ing The Presidents Cup at fix roads, establish emer-
the Liberty National Golf gency power and deliver
Club as the crisis contin- fuel to hospitals. He said
ued. Trump watched from telecommunications are
inside the commissioner’s available to about one-
hospitality suite perched third of the island. “Oh, I
above the course’s 14th believe the Puerto Ricans
hole, and waved several are pulling their weight. I
times at news cameras po- mean, I think they’re doing
sitioned briefly on the grass what they can,” he said.
below. He’ll also be help- Trump’s administration has
ing to present a trophy to tried in recent days to com-
the tournament’s winning bat the perception that he
team. Trump spent years failed to quickly grasp the
hammering his predeces- magnitude of Maria’s de-
sor, Barack Obama, both struction and has given the
for playing golf and leav- U.S. commonwealth less
ing Washington too often. President Donald Trump applauds as he watches play on the 14th hole during the final round of attention than he’d be-
“President Obama should the Presidents Cup golf tournament at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J., Sunday, Oct. stowed on Texas, Louisiana
have gone to Louisiana 1, 2017. and Florida after they were
days ago, instead of golf- (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) hit by hurricanes.q
ing,” he tweeted in August back against critics, what-
of last year, after severe ever the circumstances.
flooding in the state. “Too “When the president gets
little, too late!” attack, he attacks back,”
Trump’s weekend tweets Treasury Secretary Steven
have shown him to be con- Mnuchin said, who add-
temptuous of any com- ing that the mayor’s com-
plaints about a laggard ments were “unfair, given
U.S. response to the natu- what the federal govern-
ral disaster that has imper- ment has done.”
iled the island’s future. He But to Sen. Bernie Sanders,
has repeatedly blamed I-Vt., Trump’s tweets were
the press for what he sees “unspeakable.” He char-
as unfair coverage of the acterized the president as
situation on the ground, “speaking from his fancy
where power is out and golf club, playing golf with
many people are without his billionaire friends, at-
food, water and fuel. tacking the mayor of San
“We have done a great Juan, who is struggling” to
job with the almost impos- bring electricity, food, wa-
sible situation in Puerto ter and gas to the island.
Rico. Outside of the Fake “I don’t know what world
News or politically motivat- Trump is living in.”
ed ingrates ... people are Ohio Gov. John Kasich,
now starting to recognize who challenged Trump
the amazing work” done for the GOP presidential
by the Federal Emergency nomination last year, said
Management Agency and “when people are in the
the military, the president middle of the disaster, you
tweeted. The day before, don’t start trying to criticize
Trump had lashed out at them. I just — I don’t know
Cruz, deriding “poor lead- what to say.” The Trump
ership ability” by her and administration said it had
others in Puerto Rico “who more than 10,000 federal
are not able to get their officials on the ground, and
workers to help.” that urban search and res-
He added, without elabo- cue teams have covered
ration, “They want every- the entire island, searching
thing to be done for them more than 2,649 structures.
when it should be a com- Fifty-nine hospitals are par-
munity effort.” tially operational, and 45
In times of disasters, lead- percent of customers have
ers often shelve partisan access to drinking water,
differences. But Trump has officials said. Stores are also
a penchant for punching opening, with nearly half of