With Tropical Storm Dorian bearing down on Puerto Rico, threatening a direct hit on population centers in the east, President Donald Trump decided to restoke his intense personal feud with the island.
Trump-branded Puerto Rico “one of the most corrupt places on earth” Wednesday as the U.S. island braced for its first major storm since being ravaged by Hurricane Maria two years ago.
Trump has feuded continuously with the U.S. territory in the wake of Maria, where he was widely accused of failing to bring sufficient help. Nearly 3,000 Puerto Ricans died as a result of the storm.
“Puerto Rico is one of the most corrupt places on earth. Their political system is broken and their politicians are either Incompetent or Corrupt,” he tweeted.
Trump complained that billions of dollars in previous aid had supposedly gone to “Crooked Pols. No good!”
In a prior tweet, the president once again falsely claimed that Puerto Rico received $92 billion in disaster relief following Maria, more than “anywhere” else in history. As of May, the island had received only $11 billion of the $41 billion allocated to the relief efforts.
In an interview with The Globe Post in May, Irwin Redner, one of the nation’s leading disaster response efforts, called the Trump administration’s response to Maria “shockingly inadequate.”
Trump ended his outburst by tweeting: “And by the way, I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to Puerto Rico!”
The island has been rocked by street protests this year that forced the resignation of its governor Ricardo Rossell in August.
Earlier this week, Axios reported that Trump has repeatedly suggested using nuclear weapons to disrupt the path of hurricanes headed for the U.S.