Mayor in Puerto Rico: No, It's Not a 'Good News Story'

On Thursday, the acting Homeland Security chief declared that federal relief efforts in Puerto Rico amounted to "a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane." On Friday, the mayor of San Juan begged to differ with Elaine Duke's assessment. "When you're drinking from a creek, it's not a good news story," Carmen Yulin Cruz told CNN, per the Hill. "When you don't have food for a baby, it's not a good news story." Cruz did praise the feds for getting "boots on the ground" and President Trump for calling, but she said the situation was increasingly dire for the 3 million Americans on the island struggling to find food and water.

"Dammit, this is not a good news story," she said, per the Washington Post. "This is a people-are-dying story." Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter Friday to defend the White House response. "Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello just stated: The Administration and the President, every time we've spoken, they've delivered," Trump wrote. The president thanked FEMA, the military, and all first responders, and added: "The fact is that Puerto Rico has been destroyed by two hurricanes. Big decisions will have to be made as to the cost of its rebuilding!" Part of the problem in Puerto Rico is that relief supplies are piling up at ports instead of being delivered as authorities deal with a blizzard of logistics. (More Puerto Rico stories.)