The Trump administration has been in hot water over how it's handling hurricane relief in Puerto Rico and it looks like the Trump team is ready to get out.
Trump recently tried to win some points at a Hispanic Heritage Month event by saying "I love Puerto Rico" in an affected Spanish accent:
Trump says Puerto Rico in an affected Spanish accent three times in a row. (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/FopaVNLqAY— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 6, 2017
That went over as expected.
Other than the statement being offensive to many, Trump's "love" for Puerto Rico has been put into question by a new Washington Post report.
Seemingly in order to deflect criticism of its poor response to the Puerto Rico crisis, the Post reports that FEMA has tried to bury pertinent information on just how much aid Puerto Rico needs.
Vox reports that the agency has deleted key facts from its website, such as how many Puerto Ricans are current;y without access to potable water. (The Post reports that roughly half the island's residents have access to clean water.)
WHat else did the administration seemingly not want people to know?
That only 10 percent of Puerto Ricans currently have electricity.
That only 42 percent of Puerto Ricans have cell phone signal.
That 55 percent of Puerto Ricans have access to banking services.
Just how did it come to light that FEMA had this information, but was hiding it from public view?
Well, because Puerto Rico's government is keeping updated tabs (in both Spanish and English) on the hurricane recovery at Status.pr. FEMA was mirroring this information, but stopped doing so this week.
After WaPo posted its initial report, it was confirmed on Twitter that the missing information magically reappeared on FEMA's website:
Looks like the statistics on the percentage of Puerto Rico that has water and power are once again on FEMA website: https://t.co/C3jDm3h45A— Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) October 6, 2017
FEMA also posted a statement addressing reports that they attempted to "remove" Puerto Rico update data, calling those claims "erroneous:"
Our statement regarding recent reporting of #Maria data on our webpage. pic.twitter.com/HdY6jNwWtW— Eileen Lainez (@FEMAspox) October 6, 2017