Retired Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, credited for getting the relief efforts on track in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, mocked President Trump’s criticism of San Juan’s mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.
‘The mayor’s living on a cot and I hope the President has a good day at golf,’ Honoré said Saturday on CNN.
President Trump has spent the weekend at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club and will travel Sunday to Liberty National golf course in order to take in some of the Presidents Cup competition.
Retired Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, credited for getting the relief efforts on track in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, tore into President Trump’s criticism of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz during a CNN interview on Saturday
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz has become a target for President Trump after she criticized the government’s slow response to the crisis on the island. Trump suggested Democrats got to her and suggested she be ‘nasty’ to the president
A tweet showing San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz wading through flood waters with a bullhorn, trying to bring residents help
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz (wearing a blue hat) is seen with D.C. restaurant owner Jose Andres (right) unloading a truckload of relief supplies on Saturday
The president has also been tweeting, spending Saturday attacking Cruz suggesting that she had been ‘complimentary’ of his relief efforts until Democrats instructed her to be ‘nasty’ to Trump.
‘Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help,’ Trump wrote.
‘They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job,’ Trump added, in what was interpreted by many as a racist remark.
When talking to CNN, Honoré suggested the president was also biased against the less fortunate.
‘And the president has shown again, you don’t give a damn about poor people,’ Honoré said. ‘You don’t give a damn about people of color and the SOB that rides around in Air Force One is denying services needed by the people of Puerto Rico.’
Speaking to CBS News the day before, Honoré gave a ‘hell yeah’ when asked if Puerto Rico’s in worse shape than New Orleans after Katrina.
‘The number one priority is saving lives and when you’re saving lives, you’ve gotta figure out what rules you’re gonna break. All the rules we live by are designed for peacetime,’ he explained, adding that the conditions are so poor in Puerto Rico that ‘this is like a war.’
Honoré said the government’s first mistake in handling Maria was ‘not giving the mission to the military.’
‘Look, we got Army units that go do port openings. Not called. We got special forces that could’ve been in every town. Not employed,’ Honoré said.
He called the administration’s pre-deployment ‘good.’
‘They got an all-of-government approach. That’s good. But they don’t understand scale,’ he said.
Overall, Honoré said the president’s response was slow and small.
‘Ya’ll looking at a damn calendar in Washington. I’m looking at a damn watch,’ Honoré said.
After spending some time on the ground in Puerto Rico, Honoré said he planned to head to Washington, D.C., to work with Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on a Defense Authorization Bill.
‘That every hurricane come, we will have a task force to follow it in,’ Honoré said.