(CNN) San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz criticized President Donald Trump Thursday, saying "rather than being a commander-in-chief, he's like a hater-in-chief."

In a series of tweets Thursday, Trump suggested that Puerto Rico needs to shoulder more responsibility for recovery efforts from Hurricane Maria, saying the first responders can't stay there "forever."

"When the President makes this personal, he really is exuding behavior unbecoming a leader of a free world," she told Don Lemon on "CNN Tonight." "This isn't personal. This is life saving. This isn't politics. This is about saving lives."

A GOP source familiar with internal discussions told CNN that Trump's tweets were a direct response to remarks that Cruz had made earlier criticizing the President's response to Hurricane Maria.

Despite the President's recent tweets, on Tuesday night, the Trump administration requested $4.9 billion specifically to fund a loan program that Puerto Rico can use to address basic functions like infrastructure needs.

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