Trump Is Rebuked for Lashing Out at San Juan’s Mayor

President Donald Trump is under fire Saturday morning for lashing out on Twitter at the mayor of San Juan, who on Friday raised major concerns about the Trump administration’s slow action and misleading commentary regarding Hurricane Maria relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

In a series of tweets, the president purported that unidentified Democrats had told the Puerto Rican official “you must be nasty to Trump.” He also claimed “the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico” had demonstrated “poor leadership ability.”

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.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017

The backlash on social media was swift:

You’re going straight to hell, @realDonaldTrump. No long lines for you. Someone will say, “Right this way, sir.” They’ll clear a path. https://t.co/xXfJH0KJmw

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) September 30, 2017

And just like that, Trump paints himself as the victim in Puerto Rico crisis. https://t.co/yasJK71WPW

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 30, 2017

Doesn’t matter if you’re desperate & dying — if Trump feels criticized, he will lash out. His tweets re: Puerto Rico are cruel & inhuman.

— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) September 30, 2017

Trump’s tweets about Puerto Rico today show again that we are dealing with a narcissistic sociopath, a clinically deranged individual. This is not normal politics. And it is very dangerous.

— Jeffrey D. Sachs (@JeffDSachs) September 30, 2017

The President needs to stop pointing fingers & start taking quick action. We should use all resources at our disposal to help #PuertoRico. https://t.co/EceqAfRzEZ

— Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) September 30, 2017

The disaster unfolding in Puerto Rico will be Trump’s Katrina. His lack of response, then tweets attacking Puerto Ricans will live in infamy

— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) September 30, 2017

Offensive. When millions in Puerto Rico are in crisis, the president should be better than this. https://t.co/ca52gNgHUZ

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) September 30, 2017

Dear @realDonaldTrump: You have no moral standing to criticize anyone in Puerto Rico when you prioritized NFL bashing & playing golf first. https://t.co/vTbxmdbQ3q

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 30, 2017

Speaking to CNN on Friday, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin had expressed shock at the Trump’s administration claims that Puerto Rico’s recovery from the devastating hurricane is “a good news story,” and made headlines for saying: “When you’re drinking from a creek, it’s not a good news story. When you don’t have food for a baby, it’s not a good news story. … Damnit, this is not a good news story. This is a people-are-dying story,” as Common Dreams reported.

The president and his team have been broadly criticized for the federal government’s slow reaction to the growing humanitarian crisis, with some critics already deeming this Trump’s Hurricane Katrina, in reference to former President George W. Bush’s botched response to the disastrous hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast in 2005.

Currently in Puerto Rico, most of the island has no electricity—which could take up to six months to fully restore—and nearly half of its more than 3 million residents lack clean drinking water. Food and fuel supplies are critically low, and many are warning that Americans of the U.S. commonwealth will continue to die unless the federal government ramps up its relief efforts.