Trump Talks Puerto Rico Debt Amid Hurricane Damage, Twitter Is Not Happy

President Donald Trump on Monday broke his silence on hurricane-hit Puerto Rico, saying the island was in "deep trouble." He blamed the island’s poor infrastructure and large debt amid the widespread devastation triggering outrage on Twitter.

Taking to Twitter, the president, in a series of posts, said the debt that the island owed to Wall Street and banks “must be dealt with.” The president’s remark on the U.S. territory did not go down well with Twitterati, as the users called him out for poor-shaming Puerto Rico at a time the when the island was dealing with a natural disaster.

Trump, however, did not offer any solutions to deal with the more than $70 billion debt of the U.S. territory, which filed the biggest government bankruptcy in the nation's history, earlier this year.

The state government on Monday also asked Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain for up to four extra weeks to meet key deadlines in the bankruptcy case after Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the island, Reuters reported. However, Trump’s tweet on dealing with the debt drew some sharp reactions, with many saying it was insensitive of him to raise the issue while the island pleads for hurricane relief.

“Even more appalling than Trump JUST REALIZING that there's an issue in Puerto Rico is him implying we won't help bc of their debts—SICK GUY! ,” one tweet read.

Some said they were appalled that Trump was choosing to support his Wall Street friends instead of the island.

Meanwhile, others slammed Trump for being distracted by the NFL row and ignoring the island all this while.

Response to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico was ramped up on Monday, five days after Hurricane Maria slammed into the island, which is home to more than 3.4 million U.S. citizens. With no food, water or electricity, the devastation has been described as apocalyptic. The governor of the island, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, joined others in emphasizing that Puerto Rico's residents are also American citizens.

"We need something tangible, a bill that actually answers to our need right now," he said. "Otherwise, there will be ... a massive exodus to the (mainland) the United States," CNN reported.

"Given Puerto Rico's fragile economic recovery prior to the storms, we ask the Trump administration and U.S. Congress to take swift action to help Puerto Rico rebuild,” he said in another statement on Monday.

Democratic leaders also criticized the Trump administration for not stepping up relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the Defense Department to send a Navy medical ship, while Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called both the Republican and Democratic parties to join hands and pass a relief package, CNN said.

Amid the criticism, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday: "We’ve done unprecedented movement in terms of federal funding to provide for the people of PR and others that have been impacted by these storms."

"We’ll continue to do so and continue to do everything that we can possibly under the federal government to provide assistance," she said during the White House press briefing.