Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Wednesday 27 september 2017
Trump suddenly focuses on Puerto Rico, promises visit, aid

By LAURIE KELLMAN thankful of the job we’re His public focus in recent to criticism of President anywhere in the country.
DARLENE SUPERVILLE doing.” days on other matters, George W. Bush following #HurricaneMaria,” Rubio
Associated Press Six days after Marie struck particularly his extended the slow federal response tweeted Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sud- the island, conditions in commentary on NFL play- to Hurricane Katrina in For any president, there’s
denly, just about all Presi- much to be gained po-
dent Donald Trump can litically from ably handling
talk about is Puerto Rico. the government’s re-
After not mentioning hur- sponse to natural disasters,
ricane-devastated island and Trump is no exception.
for days, Trump on Tues- His approval ratings in the
day pushed back ag- most recent Gallup track-
gressively and repeatedly ing poll ticked up, to 39
against criticism that he percent, after his trips to
had failed to quickly grasp survey damage from Hur-
the magnitude of Maria’s ricanes Harvey and Irma in
destruction or give the U.S. Texas and Florida.
commonwealth the top- But Trump’s fixation on
priority treatment he had Puerto Rico on Tuesday
bestowed on Texas, Louisi- stood in sharp contrast to
ana and Florida after pre- his focus on other matters
vious storms. between Maria’s landfall
Trump announced that he Sept. 20 and Monday, in-
would visit Puerto Rico and cluding his fight with the
the U.S. Virgin Islands next NFL over football players
week. He tweeted about protesting during the Na-
Puerto Rico’s needs. He tional Anthem. The presi-
talked about Puerto Rico dent has tweeted about
during a meeting on tax President Donald Trump waves after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, the NFL more than two
cuts. He raised the subject Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Trump is in New York to meet with major GOP donors for a private dinner dozen times since Friday.
at a Rose Garden news as part of a fundraising effort for the Republican National Committee. By Monday, Democrats,
conference with the prime (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Republicans and Rossello
minister of Spain. were emphasizing that
And he attended a hurri- Puerto Rico remain dire, ers who kneel during the 2005. Puerto Ricans are Ameri-
cane briefing. He called a with 3.4 million people vir- National Anthem, gener- And it wasn’t just Demo- cans, too.Trump was intent
meeting of agency heads tually without electrical ated criticism that he was crats. on showing he’d gotten
tasked with helping Puerto power and short of food giving Puerto Rico short “The crisis for these Ameri- the message — but still
Rico recover, and sent top and water. Flights off the shrift after devoting con- cans needs more attention wasn’t ready to set aside
officials out to the White island are infrequent, com- siderable public attention — and more urgency from the NFL issue entirely.
House driveway to talk to munications are spotty to storm damage in Texas the executive branch,” “We are totally focused
reporters. FEMA Adminis- and roads are clogged and Florida. tweeted Republican Sen. on that,” Trump said Tues-
trator Brock Long delivered with debris. Officials said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D- Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a day of the growing crisis on
specifics: 16 Navy and electrical power may not N.Y., said she had been frequent Trump critic. Flor- the U.S. island. “But at the
Coast Guard ships in the be fully restored for more concerned that Trump’s ida GOP Sen. Marco Ru- same time, it doesn’t take
waters around Puerto Rico than a month. continued tweets about bio concurred, tweeting me long to put out a wrong
and 10 more on the way. Trump, who had proposed NFL players showed he about San Juan, “MUST get and maybe we’ll get it
Throughout, Trump stressed visiting Puerto Rico earlier didn’t grasp the severity of power crews in ASAP.” right. I think it’s a very im-
that Puerto Rico’s gover- this month, said that next the crisis. She warned that “We have a fundamental portant thing for the NFL to
nor had praised the fed- Tuesday was the earliest if he didn’t start taking it obligation to Puerto Rico not allow people to kneel
eral response, characteriz- he could get there without seriously, “this is going to to respond to a hurricane during the playing of our
ing Ricardo Rossello as “so disrupting recovery efforts. be your Katrina,” referring there the way we would National Anthem.”q
Tillerson meets top Cuba envoy amid probe into ‘attacks’

By MATTHEW LEE the longtime foes, started has also considered small- livered at the United Na- incidents were occurring,
JOSH LEDERMAN under President Barack er-scale steps such as with- tions last week in which he even after Washington in
Associated Press Obama, is being jeopar- drawing all nonessential harshly criticized Trump and May expelled two Cuban
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sec- dized by mounting alarm personnel from Havana, his administration’s policy diplomats to protest Ha-
retary of State Rex Tillerson over the unexplained inci- leaving the embassy tech- toward the communist is- vana’s failure to protect
met Tuesday with Cuba’s dents that have harmed at nically open but unable land. In a bid to show it’s a Americans on its soil.
top diplomat, as the United least 21 Americans. to perform its full range of good neighbor, Cuba has Deputy Secretary of State
States is seeking answers Neither Tillerson nor Rodri- functions unless and until also offered to send doc- John Sullivan told Congress
about mysterious “attacks” guez made any comments the health concerns are tors and humanitarian aid on Tuesday that it was a
on its diplomats in Havana. immediately after the resolved, U.S. officials have to Puerto Rico to help the reasonable suspicion that
Tillerson’s meeting with meeting ended. said. U.S. respond to Hurricane Cuban authorities either
Cuban Foreign Minister In the most striking example It was unclear whether Til- Maria. were involved in the in-
Bruno Rodriguez marks the of how the incidents are lerson would disclose new For months after U.S. dip- cidents or at least knew
highest-level diplomatic weighing on the U.S.-Cu- details to the Cuban envoy lomats started falling ill in they were occurring. Cuba
contact between the two ba relationship, the State about U.S. deliberations Havana, the U.S. and Cuba keeps tight surveillance on
countries since the start of Department is consider- or the investigation. But sought to prevent the is- American diplomats in the
President Donald Trump’s ing closing the newly re- the meeting at the State sue from becoming an country and would be likely
administration in January. opened U.S. Embassy in Department, arranged at overriding irritant in the re- to know if something signifi-
It comes as the delicate Havana, Tillerson has said. Cuba’s request, follows lationship. Neither country cant were happening to
rapprochement between The Trump administration a speech Rodriguez de- disclosed publicly that the them. q