Puerto Rico, an American territory that is home to some 3.4 million United States citizens, is in the midst of a bona fide humanitarian crisis after Hurricane Maria destroyed the island's power grid and left many of its residents without potable water, fuel for cars and generators, working hospitals, or a reliable method of communicating with the outside world. The federal government's response to this disaster has been unconscionably sluggish and woefully insufficient, and yet, instead of responding to the ensuing criticism by making a substantive effort to help, Donald Trump has spent his time accusing Puerto Ricans of wanting everything to be done for them, inventing conspiracy theories about political motivations, and for good measure, throwing a temper tantrum about the media.

Today, Trump visited Puerto Rico in order to personally inspect the crippling inadequacies of his handiwork. The president asked the commonwealth's non-voting congresswoman, Jenniffer González, to repeat for the cameras praise that she had allegedly offered to him in private. He told officials that they could be "very proud" that only 16 people had died, compared to the thousands who perished in a "real catastrophe" Hurricane Katrina. (The official death toll hasn't been updated in a week, and also, he probably should have workshopped those descriptors with his staff first.) He proudly touted the administration's performance during this storm season, giving himself an "A+" in Texas and Florida and declaring that the government has "done just as good in Puerto Rico." (Half the island does not have access to cell service or drinking water.)

Trump even took the time to note the impact of Hurricane Maria on the federal budget, because what suffering people looking for leadership are really in the mood to hear are jokes about a multibillion dollar relief effort that isn't reaching them in the first place.

It's embarrassing when Donald Trump fishes for compliments and demands on-camera praise from his assembled Cabinet members, but at least it's harmless. When he does so in the midst of a storm-ravaged community whose fearful, vulnerable residents he acknowledges only when mentioning how much it costs to help them, it's a tragedy.

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