After making remarks about how the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico without food, water, electricity or fuel “want everything done for them” and are “throwing the budget out of whack,” Donald Trump, alongside his wife Melania, finally visited the island on Tuesday to observe ongoing relief efforts.
Trump stopped at Cavalry Chapel in San Juan and was greeted with cheers from over 200 locals gathered there. He handed out food and flashlights to the hurricane victims gathered there, saying that there was “a lot of love” in the room. In a move that can be described as tone-deaf at best, Trump threw paper towels into a crowd the way a mascot throws t-shirts into the crowd at a sporting event. The scene was described as “surreal” in pool press reports.
.@realDonaldTrump entrega suministros durante su visita a la isla. #TrumpPuertoRico #huracánMaría pic.twitter.com/aAsND3HRd6
— El Nuevo Día (@ElNuevoDia) October 3, 2017
WH pool: "In a surreal scene, Trump handed some packages of "Arroz Rico"…and held up his arm and softly shot paper towels into the crowd" pic.twitter.com/ZoZlBKzQjY
— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) October 3, 2017
During his visit, Trump also claimed that Hurricane Maria was not a “real catastrophe like Katrina,” despite the millions of Puerto Ricans that have been left without basic necessities. Trump has faced wide criticism for both insensitive remarks in following the destruction in Puerto Rico, as well as the White House’s incredibly slow response.
