President Trump told reporters on Thursday that he has “taken better care of Puerto Rico than any man ever.” “Puerto Rico has been taken care of better by Donald Trump than by any living human being and I think the people of Puerto Rico understand that,” he claimed. “But you do have the mayor of San Juan who, frankly, doesn’t know what she’s doing—and the governor, they gotta spend the money wisely. They don’t know how to spend the money, and they’re not spending it wisely—but I’m giving them more money than they’ve ever gotten[.]” The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, very publicly criticized Trump for his treatment of the U.S. territory in the wake of hurricanes Maria and Irma, going so far as to claim his administration killed people due to “neglect.” The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Trump complained about the amount of aid funding Puerto Rico got in comparison to Florida and Texas to GOP senators.
Trump also addressed the controversy surrounding a budget request to cut funding to the Special Olympics, announcing that he intends to approve funding for the event. “The Special Olympics will be funded. I just told my people I want to fund the Special Olympics, and I’ve just authorized a funding of the Special Olympics,” he said. “I heard about it this morning, I have overridden my people.” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos came under fire this week for proposing to cut funding for the Special Olympics in the 2020 fiscal year.
