San Juan mayor says focus is ‘saving lives’ after Trump attack

A mayor in Puerto Rico on Saturday said her only goal is “saving lives” after President Trump accused her of being “nasty” in her plea for hurricane relief.

“The mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump,” Trump tweeted Saturday morning.

“The goal is one: saving lives. This is the time to show our ‘true colors’. We cannot be distracted by anything else,” San Juan’s Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz tweeted about an hour later.

The goal is one: saving lives. This is the time to show our “true colors”. We cannot be distracted by anything else. pic.twitter.com/7PAINk19xM

— Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) September 30, 2017

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The island has been without water or power since Hurricane Maria hit a week ago.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent airplanes and ships with food, water and generators and 10,000 federal employees have been deployed to help in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin islands, which were also hit.

Despite that, Cruz and other leaders on the island have said the situation is desperate.

On Friday, Cruz held a press conference where she said, “I am begging, begging anyone who can hear us to save us from dying. If anybody out there is listening to us, we are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency.”

Trump responded on Friday, tweeting that Cruz is showing “such poor leadership ability” and that San Juan’s mayor and other leaders in Puerto Rico “are not able to get their workers to help” in what should be a “community effort.”

The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017

…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. They….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017