The 5 most inappropriate things Donald Trump said at a Puerto Rico disaster briefing
Donald Trump  finally made it to Puerto Rico today  two weeks after Category 4 Hurricane Maria made landfall and devastated the island.  He  brought the full-on  Trump  charm with  him   slinging jokes and comments that were tone deaf at best  given the dire situation in the island nation and  his  handling of it all.
From an opening crack about the weather to bringing up the F-35 aircraft even though it was unrelated to the storm   Trump  was all over the map. Which  to be fair  shouldn't really shock us anymore.
 Trump  opened by praising the beauty and weather of Puerto Rico  with the exception of the whole hurricane thing. "Your weather is second to none but once in a while you get hit "  he  said. "And you really got hit  there's no question about it." Maybe it was the jovial tone or maybe it was the small smile on  his  face but this one was ... yeah.
" He  didn't play politics."
We already know  Trump  spent a lot of time and energy attacking San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz  who begged FEMA and members of the administration for more help in the aftermath of the storm  but didn't mention  Trump  by name.
And that's certainly who  he  was implicitly criticizing when  he  heaped praise on Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rossello by insisting  "this governor did not play politics   he  didn't play it all ...  he  was giving us the highest grades."
.@realDonaldTrump shook hands w/ San Juan Mayor who told  him  "it's not about politics"  Trump  didn't answer then pointedly ignored  her  — Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) October 3  2017
Shade by omission! By the way  Mayor Cruz was in attendance — the briefing was in San Juan  after all — and yet  despite praising other officials and government agencies   Trump  had no praise for the mayor.
As  Trump  introduced  his  budget chief Mick Mulvaney   Trump  jokingly chided Puerto Rico for the hit  his  budget took because they had the gall to get hit by a major hurricane.
So  right after he made the budget crack   Trump  then made an awkward transition to discussing the death toll and how happy he was it wasn't higher. In fact  Puerto Rico hasn't updated the current toll — 16 — in nearly a week and suspicions are growing that the actual toll will be much higher.
Not higher than Katrina  no  likely not  just as  Trump  pointed out. But then by comparing Maria to Katrina   Trump  implied that Katrina was "a real catastrophe " which means Maria ... wasn't?
Just heard  Trump  say Puerto Rico should be very proud only 16 people died against the 1000s in Katrina.
Talking to an Air Force representative  who  Trump  seemed to at first mistake for a Coast Guard officer   Trump  brought up one of  his  favorite topics  the F-35 fighter jet.
Why  though?!? The press conference was ostensibly about a hurricane and the federal government's response to it  not an opportunity to brag about the cost of an unrelated aircraft (which  Trump  may not even deserve credit for).
"Its' hard to fight a plane you can't see "  Trump  said. "But that's an expensive plane you can't see. And as you probably heard  we cut the price quite substantially. Something that other administrations never have done  that I can tell you."
At least we can take comfort in one thing:  Trump  is nothing if not consistent —  he 'll always make a disaster about  himself .
[TGT]finally made [TGT] to Puerto Rico today  two weeks after Category 4 Hurricane Maria made landfall and devastated the island.  [TGT]  brought the full-on  [TGT]  charm with  [TGT]   slinging jokes and comments that were tone deaf at best  given the dire situation in the island nation and  [TGT]  handling of it all.
From an opening crack about the weather to bringing up the F-35 aircraft even though it was unrelated to the storm   [TGT]was all over the map. Which  to be fair  shouldn't really shock us anymore.
 [TGT]opened by praising the beauty and weather of Puerto Rico  with the exception of the whole hurricane thing. "Your weather is second to none but once in a while you get hit "  he  said. "And you really got hit  there's no question about it." Maybe it was the jovial tone or maybe it was the small smile on  his  face but this one was ... yeah.
" He  didn't play politics."
We already know  [TGT]spent a lot of time and energy attacking San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz  who begged FEMA and members of the administration for more help in the aftermath of the storm  but didn't mention  [TGT]  by name.
And that's certainly who  he  was implicitly criticizing when  he  heaped praise on Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rossello by insisting  "this governor did not play politics   he  didn't play it all ...  he  was giving us the highest grades."
.@realDonaldTrump shook hands w/ San Juan Mayor who told  him  "it's not about politics"  [TGT]didn't answer then pointedly ignored  her  — Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) October 3  2017
Shade by omission! By the way  Mayor Cruz was in attendance — the briefing was in San Juan  after all — and yet  despite praising other officials and government agencies   Trump  had no praise for the mayor.
As  Trump  introduced  his  budget chief Mick Mulvaney   Trump  jokingly chided Puerto Rico for the hit  his  budget took because they had the gall to get hit by a major hurricane.
So  right after he made the budget crack   Trump  then made an awkward transition to discussing the death toll and how happy he was it wasn't higher. In fact  Puerto Rico hasn't updated the current toll — 16 — in nearly a week and suspicions are growing that the actual toll will be much higher.
Not higher than Katrina  no  likely not  just as  Trump  pointed out. But then by comparing Maria to Katrina   Trump  implied that Katrina was "a real catastrophe " which means Maria ... wasn't?
Just heard  Trump  say Puerto Rico should be very proud only 16 people died against the 1000s in Katrina.
Talking to an Air Force representative  who  Trump  seemed to at first mistake for a Coast Guard officer   Trump  brought up one of  his  favorite topics  the F-35 fighter jet.
Why  though?!? The press conference was ostensibly about a hurricane and the federal government's response to it  not an opportunity to brag about the cost of an unrelated aircraft (which  Trump  may not even deserve credit for).
"Its' hard to fight a plane you can't see "  Trump  said. "But that's an expensive plane you can't see. And as you probably heard  we cut the price quite substantially. Something that other administrations never have done  that I can tell you."
At least we can take comfort in one thing:  Trump  is nothing if not consistent —  he 'll always make a disaster about  himself .