San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz lashed out at President Donald Trump for throwing paper towels to hurricane survivors and telling them to “have fun!”
Cruz made the comments after the president and first lady Melania Trump visited the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico on Tuesday, 2 weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated the 30-mile wide island and left 34 dead.
After meeting with island residents and officials during a stop at Calvary Chapel in San Juan, Trump distributed food and other basic necessities to residents in the church. News crews captured video of Trump tossing out rolls of paper towels to residents who were in the back of the crowded room.
Afterwards, the president paused for Selfies and said, “There’s a lot of love in this room.”
Cruz expressed outrage at the seemingly insensitive display by the president.
“This terrible, and abominable view of him throwing paper towels, and throwing provisions at people. It does not embody the spirit of the American nation,” she told MSNBC News on Tuesday.
In the days before Trump’s visit, Cruz complained to reporters that the Trump administration wasn’t doing enough for Puerto Rico.
The president plans to travel to Las Vegas to visit victims of the mass shooting that claimed 59 lives at a country music festival on Sunday.
