Update with Trump’s 19th Tweet Donald Trump posted his 19th tweet of the day, again blaming “fake news” for not giving credit where it’s due. “Because of FakeNews my people are not getting the credit they deserve for doing a great job. As seen here, they are ALL doing a GREAT JOB!”
The tweet was accompanied by a video of relief efforts and audio of Ricardo Rosselló, governor of Puerto Rico, being questioned by an identified interviewer and lauding the efforts of Trump and FEMA.
Previous Hillary Clinton has Carmen Yulín Cruz’s back. “Don’t let anyone make you feel alone,” Clinton has tweeted. “We are with you and Puerto Rico.”
Clinton’s tweet came just about 45 minutes after Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of the San Juan Mayor. Said Trump: “Results of recovery efforts will speak louder” than her “complaints.” His 16th tweet of the day from his New Jersey golf resort cames after hours of intense backlash to his morning tweets lambasting the outspoken mayor.
“Results of recovery efforts will speak much louder than complaints of San Juan Mayor,” Trump tweeted at 4:37 pm ET. “Doing everything we can to help great people of PR!” (See it below.)
Trump was doing some late-in-the-day twitter diplomacy by telling “the people of Puerto Rico” to “not believe the Fake News!” Most of the island remains without electricity or cell phone service.
(His 17th tweet today reiterated his plans to visit Puerto Rico Tuesday “to further ensure we continue doing everything possible to assist & support the people in their time of great need.” His 18th returned to the NFL: “Very important that NFL players STAND tomorrow, and always, for the playing of our National Anthem. Respect our Flag and our Country!”)
“FakeNews critics are working overtime,” Trump tweeted this afternoon, “but we’re getting great marks from the people that truly matter!” The president also has started hashtagging his tweets with #PRStrong and a Puerto Rican flag.
After his string of early-morning tweets lambasting Cruz for “poor leadership” and being “nasty to Trump,” the president let loose with another Puerto Rico-centric volley, appealing directly to “the people” and praising Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Rossello as “a great guy.”
“Thank you Ricky!,” Trump tweeted.
The president also thanked Congresswoman Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon and U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp “who stated that #FEMA and Military are doing a GREAT job!”
The afternoon tweets capped a day of intense and harsh criticism directed towards Trump. His name-dropping of Mapp, Gonzalez-Colon and Rossello pointedly excluded Cruz, who has become the very public face of widespread dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of the hurricane-ravaged island.
Earlier, Cruz responded to Trump’s morning tweets thusly:
Trump’s tweets:
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.