Trump’s apathy about Puerto Rico is reflected in where he’s spending his weekend
As Hurricanes Harvey and Irma approached Texas and Florida, President Trump spent his weekends either at Camp David or at the White House, participating in the coordination of preparations and helping guide the government’s response. Those were massive storms, drowning one of the largest cities in the country and threatening South Florida. But neither appears to have led to the sort of catastrophe or death toll that the nation saw after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Trump enjoyed the rewards of that limited impact, with a small uptick in his poll numbers and polling showing that most Americans think he handled the crisis well. So, for the first time in a month, he decided to spend last weekend at one of his private clubs, the one in Bedminster, N.J.
This was three days after Hurricane Maria obliterated Puerto Rico, and the effects of the storm were already obvious. But not, apparently, to Trump.
The Post reported on Friday that Trump’s time at Bedminster contributed to the administration’s slow response to the disaster in Puerto Rico — a misfire that’s already been compared unfavorably to George W. Bush’s historic blunder in responding to Katrina.
Trump jetted to New Jersey that Thursday night to spend a long weekend at his private golf club there, save for a quick trip to Alabama for a political rally. Neither Trump nor any of his senior White House aides said a word publicly about the unfolding crisis. … Administration officials would not say whether the president spoke with any other top officials involved in the storm response while in Bedminster, N.J.
Even though local officials had said publicly as early as Sept. 20, the day of the storm, that the island was “destroyed,” the sense of urgency didn’t begin to penetrate the White House until Monday, when images of the utter destruction and desperation — and criticism of the administration’s response — began to appear on television, one senior administration official said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-spending-his-weekend/?utm_term=.2f32d9457da3
As Hurricanes Harvey and Irma approached Texas and Florida, President Trump spent his weekends either at Camp David or at the White House, participating in the coordination of preparations and helping guide the government’s response. Those were massive storms, drowning one of the largest cities in the country and threatening South Florida. But neither appears to have led to the sort of catastrophe or death toll that the nation saw after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Trump enjoyed the rewards of that limited impact, with a small uptick in his poll numbers and polling showing that most Americans think he handled the crisis well. So, for the first time in a month, he decided to spend last weekend at one of his private clubs, the one in Bedminster, N.J.
This was three days after Hurricane Maria obliterated Puerto Rico, and the effects of the storm were already obvious. But not, apparently, to Trump.
The Post reported on Friday that Trump’s time at Bedminster contributed to the administration’s slow response to the disaster in Puerto Rico — a misfire that’s already been compared unfavorably to George W. Bush’s historic blunder in responding to Katrina.
Trump jetted to New Jersey that Thursday night to spend a long weekend at his private golf club there, save for a quick trip to Alabama for a political rally. Neither Trump nor any of his senior White House aides said a word publicly about the unfolding crisis. … Administration officials would not say whether the president spoke with any other top officials involved in the storm response while in Bedminster, N.J.
Even though local officials had said publicly as early as Sept. 20, the day of the storm, that the island was “destroyed,” the sense of urgency didn’t begin to penetrate the White House until Monday, when images of the utter destruction and desperation — and criticism of the administration’s response — began to appear on television, one senior administration official said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-spending-his-weekend/?utm_term=.2f32d9457da3
