Never has a U.S. president been so ill-equipped to meet a moment of national tragedy. Donald Trump went from calling the Las Vegas shooting a "miracle" Tuesday morning to wishing Hurricane Maria survivors in Puerto Rico a "good time" Tuesday afternoon.
The lack of empathy and awareness is simply astounding, not to mention sociopathic.
“Look, we have a tragedy. What happened is, in many ways, a miracle,” Trump said of the massacre in Las Vegas as he departed in the morning to survey the devastation in Puerto Rico. "I do have to say, how quickly the police department was able to get in was really very much of a miracle. They’ve done an amazing job.”
But that was just a warm up routine for the disconnect Trump displayed in Puerto Rico. During an impromptu discussion that aired on MSNBC, Trump told a Puerto Rican family they were "great looking" before asking them about the hurricane and ending with: "We're gonna help you out—have a good time."
Apparently, it's a barrel of laughs down there in Puerto Rico right now—so much so that Trump took to showing off some of his basketball moves. In what one pooler described as a "surreal" scene, Trump began handing out supplies by picking up paper towel rolls and gently shooting them into the crowd as if competing at a free throw contest.
Trump continued to spread his soft touch throughout Puerto Rico, where he was scheduled to meet with the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, who has been sharply critical of the federal government's lagging response to the island's post-Maria crisis.
Never one to be overly gracious, Trump later used that same phrase to browbeat Mayor Cruz while conducting a "Dear Leader" style press conference in which he required officials to praise his relief efforts. Both Trump and Puerto Rico's governor, Ricardo Rosselló, gave each other an A+ on their mutual responses.
"He didn't play politics," Trump said, praising the governor who has largely lauded Trump's efforts. "He told it like it was, gave us the highest marks."
Then Trump proceeded to blame the U.S. territory for his administration’s deficit-balooning budget.
Still, Trump added, Puerto Rico should be “very proud” that only 16 people died compared to “a real catastrophe like Katrina.” Meanwhile, some 50 percent of Puerto Ricans still don't have clean drinking water, up from 44 percent last week.
No word yet on how Trump fared at the free throw contest but his capacity for human compassion has clearly been strained to it limits.