White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley today referred to Puerto Rico as “that country,” adding fuel to the flame that the White House does not treat the island as part of the United States.

During an interview, Gidley railed against the Puerto Rican government’s handling of federal hurricane aid, claiming officials left food to rot at the island’s ports.

His comments came after President Trump falsely claimed that “Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before.”

“They have not come to $91 billion with all we’ve done in that country,” Gidley said, without correcting himself.

Gidley later clarified his statement, saying it was a “slip of the tongue.”

Trump received backlash after he claimed during a series of tweets this morning that Puerto Rico only takes from the United States.

In addition to being a U.S. territory, its residents are U.S. citizens.

Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before, & all their local politicians do is complain & ask for more money. The pols are grossly incompetent, spend the money foolishly or corruptly, & only take from USA…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2019

….The best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump. So many wonderful people, but with such bad Island leadership and with so much money wasted. Cannot continue to hurt our Farmers and States with these massive payments, and so little appreciation! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2019

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló responded today to Trump’s latest attacks on the island by telling the president that “we are not your adversaries, we are your citizens.”

In a string of tweets, Rosselló also asked Trump to “stop spreading misinformation” about disaster funding allocated to Puerto Rico and asked Congress to “take action.”

Mr. President: STOP spreading misinformation! #PuertoRico has not received $91b (only 300M in permanent work). It’s not “us” vs “them”. It’s about Americans in need. https://t.co/00CqevN5T7 — Ricardo Rossello (@ricardorossello) April 2, 2019

Yes, we are wonderful people: we have weaved American Flag, the fabric of our nation, with our sacrifice and valor fighting in every war since WWI. We are Americans, we are your citizens. — Ricardo Rossello (@ricardorossello) April 2, 2019

Puerto Ricans ARE American farmers! American teachers! American citizens! American everything! @SenateGOP, @SenateDems – I urge you, take action on your commitment and empathy to Americans in need. Mr. President, once again, we are not your adversaries, we are your citizens. — Ricardo Rossello (@ricardorossello) April 2, 2019

The phrase “Puerto Rico Is The USA” began trending on Twitter following the president’s comment.

{READ: Make Puerto Rico A State Or Set It Free}

More broadly, the White House has been criticized for holding a double standard when it comes to distributing hurricane relief aid and favoring states such as Florida and Texas over Puerto Rico.

All areas were hit by destructive hurricanes around the same time.

Trump has repeatedly denied the death toll following the hurricane, now estimated around 3,000 people.

Trump was also criticized for his visit to the island, after he appeared to downplay the destruction and death caused by two hurricanes that struck within several weeks of each other.

Images of Trump throwing paper towels became the main image from the trip.

Trump has told senior administration officials that he believes Puerto Rico should not see any more federal aid other than food stamp funding and has reportedly directed aides to find ways to cut funding to the island.

“He doesn’t want another single dollar going to the island,” a senior administration official told The Washington Post.

Puerto Rico faced a costly cleanup in response to two devastating hurricanes last year that left most of the island’s 3 million residents without power or running water while thousands were killed and others faced debilitating injuries from storms.

Puerto Rico’s top politicians have responded by urging the president to return to the island to witness the state of cleanup and recovery efforts.