AIBONITO, PUERTO RICO - OCTOBER 11: Sonia Torres' destroyed home remains in shambles, three weeks after Hurricane Maria hit the island, on October 11, 2017 in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. The area is without running water or grid power as a nightly curfew remains in effect. Despite multiple visits from FEMA, the town has yet to receive any FEMA aid. Only 10.6 percent of Puerto Rico's grid electricity has been restored. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Early this morning, President Trump served notice to the residents of Puerto Rico that he may pull back first responders and aid to the island of Puerto Rico amid a humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
In a series of tweets this morning, Trump said the U.S. territory's electrical grid and infrastructure were a "disaster before hurricanes," and that will be up to Congress how much federal money will get to the island for recovery efforts. He punctuated the tweets by saying that relief workers will not stay "forever."
It's been three weeks since Hurricane Maria devastated the small island of 3.4 million people, most of whom are still without power and basic services. Residents say they're having trouble finding clean water, and that hospitals are running short on critical supplies. There's very little business activity on the island right now, with many local businesses remaining closed.
Puerto Rico's Governor, Ricardo Rosselló responded to Trump with a tweet of his own (naturally) saying that Puerto Ricans were seeking the same kind of support that any of their "fellow citizens would receive across our Nation."
The mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz, who has been criticizing the president's response ever since the disaster began, said that Trump's comments about Puerto Rico were unbecoming of a Commander in Chief.
The White House issued a statement Thursday, saying they were committing "the full force of the U.S. government" to recovery efforts on the island. The statement noted that "successful recoveries do not last forever."