The Aguirre thermoelectric plant is seen days after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in Salinas, Puerto Rico September 29, 2017. Picture taken September 29, 2017. REUTERS/ Alvin Baez

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House budget director Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday backed away from U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments a day earlier calling for the storm-hit island’s debt to be wiped out.

In an interview on CNN, the Office of Management and Budget director said Trump was referring to Puerto Rico’s need to fix its own debt issues through its oversight board.

“I wouldn’t take it word for word,” Mulvaney said of Trump’s comments late Tuesday.