Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Question of the Day: Trump’s Twitter Storm on Puerto Rico
President Donald Trump was roundly criticized this weekend for negative tweets about the situation in Puerto Rico. That quickly turned into criticism about the entire recovery operation. The Question of the Day: How do you judge President Trump’s handling of the hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico?
The Ricochet Question of the Day poses a question about the news, then at the end of the day, we’ll post the best comments. Join the conversation!
Published in General
I think from a supplies/assistance point of view, he was fine. One can only do so much with two other stateside disasters.
I am genuinely conflicted on the spat with the Mayor of San Juan. It’s obvious there was a narrative the Left wanted re: Katrina. It’s clear that there would be no attempts to report stories that went against this narrative that Trump was not helping the people of Puerto Rico to give it a racial angle. My conclusion is “Stupid, but necessary.” We on the right as yet don’t have a loud enough bullhorn in the culture wars to be able to fight some of these narratives. Bush’s Katrina wasn’t Bush’s Katrina, but it became Bush’s Katrina because of the high road and lack of fight/communication. The administration had to engage in my opinion.
Figures: anti-Trump San Juan mayor top Hillary Clinton supporter in 2016
Who in their right mind would believe that incompetent (even before Maria) leftist stooge of a mayor? Oh, that’s right: CNN, MSNBC, NYT, WaPo, etc.
I don’t understand why the POTUS is involved at all. Shouldn’t there be actual experts available whose actual job is to actually take care of these sorts of problems?
It’s impossible to judge the competency of the government’s recovery efforts. Whether they’re doing enough or not, whether the government is prudent and efficient or generally incompetent, we cannot know at this time. Not only is there the fog of events but it has now all been clouded with Trump/Anti-Trump politics.
However, the question was to the President’s handling of the situation. I would judge it as extremely poor. It’s not that Donald Trump should be out there with a chainsaw clearing downed limbs. That his not his role. Nor should he be telling ships where to go or who to send relief supplies to.
The situation is an occasion for calm national leadership. He is not providing it.
Rather than bringing people together to help their fellow citizens, he is using it as an occasion to attack critics in the media elsewhere and trying to score political points. (That is to say nothing of the optics of the President golfing while 3.4 million American citizens are without electricity.)
Maybe the criticisms of recovery efforts are legitimate, maybe they’re not. But one thing is clear: As a test of presidential leadership, he fails miserably.
@fredcole Trump failing is the only thing you ever see. I believe you dream about Trump failing. But maybe that is because I stopped reading anything you say because it was always so negative. Trump can’t get any credit from some folks like you because, after all, he can’t be out with a chain saw clearing downed limbs. That credit goes of course to the courageous men and women on the front lines. Also he can’t get any credit for having infrastructure organization that helped those courageous front line people to succeed. That credit goes to the agency heads and their staff who performed so well. Ah but,,,he sure can get criticism for responding to some political hack mayor who has done nothing herself to help her people get some relief. On that Trump FAILS in Presidential leadership. Ha, ha, ha.
No, dude. I said his role specifically wasn’t clearing downed limbs.
His role here is to be a national leader in a time of crisis, not take pot shots at critics and whine about media coverage. This is a seriously bad situation, now he’s (yet again) made it about himself.
Maybe you think he deserves credit for that. I do not share your evaluation.
Hey dude, it’s you that deserves no credit. Puerto Rico is an example of leftist run government with corruption and failed and ignored infrastructure. But is is an island and the people have no place to go. I feel for them, not that rotten leftist Mayor that has time to criticize when she should be helping her own people. And I know what you said. It’s you not reading what I said. I’ve been around here longer than you. I’ve learned to ignore you. I wish the management would do the same.
Right. But the question in the OP isn’t whether the government of PR is corrupt and leftest and ignored infrastructure, its how we judge the President’s handling of the crisis.
If he had quietly and deliberately done his management role, ignored what he perceived as partisan and unjust criticism, spoke only to praise the work of those helping to make things better, and did his job as a leader, I would have no reason to criticize him.
The problem Mr Cole is that quietly and deliberately, ignoring unjust criticism, etc. is not Trump’s style. No matter how much you complain Trump is not going to change. So either live the next 31/2 years, at least, with an upset stomach, headache, and gas or figure out a way to make a little lemonade. Like I said, I have been ignoring you for a year. I stepped in here just to have my say one time. I’m done
Yeah. I noticed.
That’s one of the reasons why before the election so many of us said he was unfit to be President.
Poor. Now is not the time to go whining about the media or fake news. It surprises me not at all that the President once again has no sense of timing or restraint.
Can someone in the administration who is invested in seeing it succeed please, please, please take away his ability to tweet? He is his own worst enemy.
I’m a little behind in the news. What did San Juan’s mayor say that is being regarded as an attack on Trump?
She’s a Hillary supporter trying to make this a Katrina bc Trump hates brown people. That’s the narrative some on the media wanted to push and the mayor was their tool.
Our thin skinned president responded about as I’d expect him too. Obnoxiously. Bush’s response , or lack thereof, to the media got him nothing good. So I suppose attacking the democrat stooge is better than allowing a false narrative to go unchecked.
I’ll judge the president based on long term results. Cost vs benefit. I think I’ll avoid the democrat media 24/7 ‘this goes to 11’ Trump hysteria machine outrage du jour.
What’s the outage du jour?
That’s the outrage of the day.
Sounds delicious.
If the island is flooded and people are dying, where did the “Mayor” get the time, and where did she go, to get T-shirts made that say People Are Dying?
Answer: A US Representative from Chicago brought them to her. This was a pre-planned attack on the President coordinated with the MSM. They have nothing on Trump, so they were trying to create a Katrina situation that worked so well with Bush.
Our President recognized the ambush and responded perfectly.
Certainly it should be acknowledged that there would likely be a better, in the middle of these two extremes, response from a more politically astute politician. It is also likely that said more artful response would have been completely ignored by the same social media culture of death.
Fighting fire with fire. Not ideal. Not pretty. But effective.
Trump, in his mentally discombobulated way, accused Mayor Cruz of not meeting with the FEMA representatives already present. She was probably busy getting the hat and t-shirt silkscreened and making TV appearances. To his credit, George Stephanopoulos actually asked her if she had, whereupon she tap danced for three minutes instead of saying “no.”
She’s Ray Nagin without the freezer full of cash. Still, it isn’t Trump’s mission to be doing this. Have Sarah Sanders do it. Sarah’s been beating the White House Press Corps like they were a rented set of bongos anyway.
That wasn’t Ray Nagin. William Jefferson had the freezer full of cash.
You’re right. But considering that he was convicted of 20 different charges for taking bribes, he could have had a freezer full of cash if he had wanted one.
My conscience is clear, since I voted for Hillary.