I'm Late to the Joke

Apparently Dotard J Trump tried to justify dragging his feet on help to Puerto Rico because it's hard to get to. Never mind we have a Navy and a Coast Guard. And Marines. And, oh yeah. He's going there by plane on Tuesday for his photo op.

Reading from his teleprompter, Trump began by sending “our thoughts and prayers to the people of Puerto Rico, who have been struck by storms of historic and catastrophic severity.” But then he strayed from his script:

“The response and recovery effort probably has never been seen for something like this. This is an island surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water.”

[...]

“This is a thing called the Atlantic Ocean. This is tough stuff.”

  MSNBC

'Not many people know this.  It's a thing called the Atlantic Ocean.  Big water. '

Does he seriously think no island has ever had a disaster and recovery efforts? My god.

Earlier in the day, the president added, “This is an island sitting in the middle of an ocean. It’s a big ocean, it’s a very big ocean.”

Well, yes, Little Donnie, the ocean is very big. On the other hand, do you know where Puerto Rico is? Not exactly the middle of that very big ocean. Perhaps you'll get the picture when you visit on Tuesday.

I knew it was a mistake to laugh at Dan Quayle. We were just tempting the gods.

  Charles P Pierce

And don't anybody remind him unless you want to set him off on a tirade, that not only have there been numerous island rescue operations, but one of the biggest was conducted by his arch nemesis.

After an earthquake shattered Haiti’s capital on Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. military mobilized as if it were going to war.

Before dawn the next morning, an Army unit was airborne, on its way to seize control of the main airport in Port-au-Prince. Within two days, the Pentagon had 8,000 American troops en route. Within two weeks, 33 U.S. military ships and 22,000 troops had arrived. More than 300 military helicopters buzzed overhead, delivering millions of pounds of food and water.

[...]

By contrast, eight days after Hurricane Maria ripped across neighboring Puerto Rico, just 4,400 service members were participating in federal operations to assist the devastated island, an Army general told reporters Thursday. In addition, about 1,000 Coast Guard members were aiding the efforts. About 40 U.S. military helicopters were helping to deliver food and water to the 3.4 million residents of the U.S. territory, along with 10 Coast Guard helicopters.

[...]

“I think it’s a fair ask why we’re not seeing a similar command and response,” said retired Lt. Gen. P.K. “Ken” Keen, the three-star general who commanded the U.S. military effort in Haiti, where 200,000 people died by some estimates.

  WaPo

And Haitians aren't even American citizens like Puerto Ricans. Oh, and they didn't have several days to put together plans ahead of the earthquake knowing it was coming either.

Christ.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.