During a Friday press conference, San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz made a heartbreaking plea: "I am asking the members of the press to send a mayday call all over the world. We are dying here."

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San Juan mayor: "We are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency, and the bureaucracy. We will make it with or without you." pic.twitter.com/NRi5Vp3L5H — NBC News (@NBCNews) September 29, 2017

With the electrical grid almost completely wiped out and untold numbers of people stranded without access to water and food in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans— who, it cannot be said often enough, are American citizens— are truly facing a crisis. Cruz criticized the federal government's lackluster response, saying that she "cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out logistics for a small island 100 miles by 35 miles long."

President Trump, seemingly determined to resist any opportunity to rise above his instinctive pettiness and actually lead, responded in his usual style: by lashing out at the Puerto Rican hurricane response in general and Mayor Cruz in particular.



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The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017

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...Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017

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...want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017

As though criticizing Mayor Cruz wasn't crass enough, Trump invoked the racist trope of lazy minorities hungry for government handouts just for good measure.

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The goal is one: saving lives. This is the time to show our "true colors". We cannot be distracted by anything else. pic.twitter.com/7PAINk19xM — Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) September 30, 2017

If you're looking for reputable charities that are seeking donations for Puerto Rico, check out this list.

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