Fiddler On The Green

Trump golfs while Puerto Ricans burn over the unseemly delay in delivering much needed aid to parts of the island in desperate need of food, drinking water, and power. I am sure I am not the only one analogizing Trump's golfing to Nero's fiddling while Rome was burning. But it is not just the optics that are so bad because the audio portion of this story is even more appalling. Furthermore, all of the insensitivity and incompetence fits into what has become a well established pattern of behavior.

In reporting on Trump's remarks following the first of three devastating hurricanes, Hurricane Harvey, the Washington Post commented on Trump's narcissism and lack of empathy as follows:

“‘Thank you, everybody,” the president said, sporting one of the white “USA” caps that are being sold on his campaign website for $40. “I just want to say: We love you. You are special. . . .  What a crowd. What a turnout.”

Yet again, Trump managed to turn attention on himself. His responses to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey have been more focused on the power of the storm and his administration’s response than on the millions of Texans whose lives have been dramatically altered by the floodwaters.

He has talked favorably about the higher television ratings that come with hurricane coverage, predicted that he will soon be congratulating himself and used 16 exclamation points in 22 often breathless tweets about the storm. But as of late Tuesday afternoon, the president had yet to mention those killed, call on other Americans to help or directly encourage donations to relief organizations.”

Needless to say that Trump was widely criticized for the lack of empathy he displayed in regard to victims of Hurricane Harvey. So he responded to that criticism and to his dip in the polls by handing out sandwiches to victims of Hurricane Irma during his visit to Florida.  But in spite of his best effort to appear concerned about the suffering of the hurricane victims his tweets near that time still show a lack of genuine compassion.

Now we come to the worst: in spite of the fact that the damage to Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria is absolutely devastating, Puerto Rico has not received the same robust and effective response that Texas and Florida received after hurricanes Harvey and Irma. In an emotional statement to the press the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulin Cruz, pleaded for help. Without specifically naming Trump she addressed the issue of the widely inadequate relief effort by saying, "[w]e are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency.”

Instead of acknowledging the dire situation in Puerto Rico and offering more support Trump took to twitter to insult Mayor Cruz by saying she showed “poor leadership” and that they, the Puerto Ricans, “...want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.”

All I can say is congratulations to the bungler in chief! If this does not give the Trump chumps buyer's remorse nothing will.