Nydia Velazquez Blasts Trump's Response To Puerto Rico

BROOKLYN, NY — U.S. Rep Nydia Velazquez, a Puerto Rican native who represents Sunset Park and parts of Brooklyn in Congress, blasted President Trump's response to Hurricane Maria in an appearance on CNN Tuesday.

The president finally acknowledged the unfolding crisis on the island in a series of tweets Monday night, and on Tuesday morning said he would be visiting the U.S. territory next week. They were his first comments on the devastation since he engaged in a war with sports figures over their protests during the national anthem.

"I'm happy to see that the president has started to comprehend the severity of this crisis in Puerto Rico," Velazquez said on CNN. "It is nice that we hear that he understands that basically the island has been destroyed. The most fundamental duty of the president of the United States is to protect the homeland, and that includes Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands."

Velazquez added that the storm "is going to be Mr. Trump’s Katrina," referring to the storm that devastated New Orleans in 2005.

Velazquez, the first Puerto Rican women to be elected to Congress has been outspoken since the storm struck Puerto Rico in the need for federal aide to reach the island. Critics have said that the federal government's response has been lacking.

Velazquez said "we need to spend less time putting out tweets" and more time addressing the crisis.

"The fact of the matter is, the administration has not been able to comprehend the fact that people in Puerto Rico are dealing with life and death issues," Velazquez said. "It brought tears to my eyes when I heard that two people died yesterday because the machines were not fully operational. This is now a humanitarian crisis. It was a natural disaster that requires a massive response from the federal government. That has not happened."

Trump defended his administration's response Tuesday morning.

"We really have, we have worked very, very hard in Puerto Rico. It’s very tough because it’s an island," Trump said to reporters on Tuesday. "We’ve gotten A-pluses on Texas and in Florida, and we will also on Puerto Rico. But the difference is this is an island sitting in the middle of an ocean. It’s a big ocean, it’s a very big ocean. And we’re doing a really good job."

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)