President Donald Trump appeared to threaten to abandon the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in a time of need in an early morning Twitter rant.
First, Trump cited commentary from Sinclair Broadcasting TV host Sharyl Attkisson, who said that Puerto Rico was entering a financial crisis “largely of their own making.”
“Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making.” says Sharyl Attkisson. A total lack of…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
Then Trump proceeded to slam the government of Puerto Rico for showing “a total lack of accountability,” while then saying that Congress needed to set a limit on how much it spends on helping Puerto Rico recover from a hurricane.
…accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
He then finished by saying that America simply “cannot keep FEMA, the military, and first responders… in P.R. forever!”
…We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
At the time of Trump’s tweets, FEMA is estimating that 36% of Puerto Ricans lack access to drinking water, while 90% of the island lacks electricity.