-Every week, it seems like we've seen Donald Trump at his worst,
and every week he finds a way to sink lower.
And now, with his response to the crisis in Puerto Rico,
we are witnessing, once again,
the very real consequences of
electing a lazy, ignorant racist as president.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
The scale of the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico
cannot be overstated.
Over 3 million U.S. citizens living there
have been without power.
More than half the population
doesn't have access to clean drinking water.
Food is scarce, roads are damaged,
and gas has been in short supply.
And yet our president seems to know
only one thing about the situation --
that Puerto Rico is an island.
-It's on an island in the middle of the ocean.
It's out in the ocean.
This is an island sitting in the middle of an ocean,
and it's a big ocean. It's a very big ocean.
This is an island, surrounded by water.
Big water, ocean water.
-"Water." [ Laughter ]
The whole things like getting a situation report
from a cartoon caveman. [ Laughter ]
But it's not fair to keep harping on
the fact that Trump is dumb.
Let's not forget, he's also lazy.
The day after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico...
So, Trump literally needed the TV
to tell him to help Puerto Rico.
Trump watches so much TV, at this point,
even golf announcers will start dropping hints for him
about how to do his job.
-And a short putt here for McIlroy,
but he looks distracted.
-He's probably focused on President Trump's tweets
about North Korea this morning.
-That's got to be on his mind.
-He's looking at the hole and thinking,
"Please, Mr. President, stop calling him Little Rocket Man."
-And, when you think about it, if there's a nuclear war,
then there would be no more golf.
-Good point.
-And here's the putt for par.
And he missed it. [ Audience ohs ]
-That's what happens when the president tweets crazy [bleep]
[ Laughter ]
-And on top of that --
[ Cheers and applause ] That is what happens.
And on top of that,
Trump's acting Homeland Security Director made things worse
when she called the recovery effort...
And when she heard that comment,
the mayor of San Juan was understandably frustrated,
pleading in interviews and press conferences for more help,
and a greater sense of urgency for the people of Puerto Rico.
And in return, Donald Trump did what any leader would do --
he berated the people begging him for help.
-President Trump is attacking the mayor of San Juan
in a barrage of early morning tweets.
-"The mayor of San Juan,
who was very complimentary only a few days ago,
has now been told by the Democrats that
'You must be nasty to Trump.'
Such poor leadership ability by the mayor of San Juan
and others in Puerto Rico."
Another tweet, "who are not able to get their workers to help.
They want everything to be done for them
when it should be a community effort."
-Everything?
They want electricity and drinking water,
not Rihanna tickets and a new Tesla.
Now obviously, many Americans are angry about
the president's choice to lash out at the mayor of San Juan
instead of focusing on hurricane relief.
But no one is madder than Puerto Ricans themselves.
One of our writers, Jenny Hagel, is Puerto Rican,
and she's here to comment right now.
Welcome, Jenny.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Thank you, Seth.
First of all, can we see a clip
of Mayor Cruz being nasty, please?
-When you're drinking from a creek,
it's not a good news story.
When you don't have food for a baby,
it's not a good news story.
Damn it, this is not a good news story.
This is a people-are-dying story.
This is a life-or-death story.
-If you think that's nasty,
you've never seen a Puerto Rican woman get mad.
She didn't even throw her shoe.
[ Laughter ] You don't believe me?
One time during a parent-teacher conference,
my mom told my teacher to go to hell,
and my teacher was a priest.
[ Laughter ]
Also, here's how I know that's not nasty --
she didn't even switch over to Spanish,
'cause that's when you know you're in trouble
with a Puerto Rican woman.
If Mayor Cruz ever goes full Puerto Rican on you --
[ Speaking Spanish ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
Mm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hm.
You might be thinking, "Well, if she didn't get that mad,
maybe she's not Puerto Rican," but you know how I know she is?
'Cause she's in the middle of a [bleep] storm,
and she still looks good.
Look at those glasses.
[ Laughter ]
Meanwhile, you look like a hurricane hit you
on a normal day.
[ Laughter ]
Mira, quit calling Mayor Cruz nasty.
That's not the word you mean.
You mean noncompliant.
You're mad because you were challenged by a woman of color.
You're mad that a woman of color is more compassionate
and better at her job than you.
Because you don't like us, and I know why.
it's because we have the thick wavy hair
you so desperately crave. [ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ] It's true.
I lose more hair in the shower in the morning
than you have on your whole head.
You [speaking Spanish]
[ Laughter ]
So remember, if you know what's good for you,
don't step to a Puerto Rican woman.
You can't handle it.
[ Speaking Spanish ]
Back to you, Seth.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Jenny Hagel, everybody. [ Applause ]
But you know -- it's not fair of us to keep harping
on the fact that Trump is dumb and lazy.
Let's not forget he's also a liar.
And any Trump crisis would not be complete
without a bizarre and unnecessary lie,
fabricated out of whole cloth.
Like this tweet when Trump tried to brag about
his response to the hurricane.
Sounds reassuring,
except for the fact that Puerto Rican officials
literally had no idea what Trump was talking about.
Asked about Trump's tweet,
the governor of Puerto Rico said...
Just imagine how scary his lie about building safety would be
if his previous job was buildings.
Oh [bleep]
[ Laughter and applause ]
Someone better check those inspection papers.
[ Applause ]
Seriously, and you better pray they don't look like this.
[ Laughter ]
With his insults this weekend,
Trump proved once again how petty and cruel he can be.
And, look, I know he won't listen to me or the media
or the mayor of San Juan,
but he does usually listen to the military.
So I'll let retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré,
who was in Puerto Rico while Trump was at his golf course,
sum this whole thing up.
-What is your reaction to the president's tweets this morning?
-I have no reaction. The mayor is living on a cot.
And I hope the president have a good day at golf.
-Damn. [ Audience oohs ]
Were you in the Army or SEAL Team Sass?
[ Laughter ]
This is the cruel racism of Donald Trump at work.
When the victims of hurricanes in Florida and Texas
needed help, he didn't hesitate.
But when the victims are people of color,
and when the critics challenging him are women of color,
his reaction is to insult them,
drag his feet on sending help,
and bring up financial issues.
For example, no one ever asked
how Texas and Florida would pay for their recoveries,
but Trump has repeatedly raised the issue with Puerto Rico,
tweeting about its...
And then at the same time,
his own administration is pushing forward
on a plan that will help the rich.
A giant tax cut.
-President Trump and Republican lawmakers making the case
for their newly unveiled tax plan.
-An independent, non-partisan group has come out and said that
80% of the benefits by 2027 will accrue to the top 1%.
That means, if you're a family making over $900,000,
under the plan, the details that we know so far,
you're gonna get a $200,000 tax cut.
-The Tax Policy Center also estimates the plan would add
$2.4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years.
-So while he chides Puerto Rico for not paying its debts,
Trump is willing to spend trillions on a plan
that would cut his own taxes.
That is, if he even keeps his money here in the U.S.
I have a feeling he's got his money stashed away on...
-An island.
Surrounded by water.
Big water, ocean water.
-"Water, water."
[ Laughter and applause ]
So, in the middle of a disaster,
Trump is worried about finding the money
to save lives in Puerto Rico,
but isn't as concerned about spending $2 trillion on tax cuts
for the ultra wealthy.
And not only that, Trump's cabinet
of millionaires and billionaires
is so out of touch,
they can't even lie about their tax plan effectively.
Last week, Trump economic advisor Gary Cohn,
a multi-millionaire former Goldman Sachs executive,
tried to claim middle-class taxpayers would get a tax cut
of about $1,000 a year.
But when he offered examples of ways
families could spend that money,
he didn't seem to know how much everyday items cost.
-If we allow a family to keep another $1,000 of their income,
what does that mean?
They can renovate their kitchen,
they can buy a new -- They could buy a new car.
-Huh? [ Audience oohs ]
[ Laughter ]
You think it costs $1,000 to buy a new car?
The best you could do with $1,000
is take Uber everywhere for a week.
Also, I love that he thinks the first thing
a middle-class family would do with $1,000
is renovate their kitchen. [ Laughter ]
"Okay, honey, we could pay off
our student loans or these medical bills,
or we could get that hot Property Brother
to add subway tile to the breakfast nook."
"Oh, hey, I just found a $5 bill in my jeans.
Why don't I take us all to the movies?
Popcorn? Of course. It's a $5."
So Trump doesn't have the basic human decency
to show compassion and grace
towards victims of a natural disaster.
And his party is more concerned with cutting taxes for the rich,
but if there's one thing we can all agree on,
surely it's that children deserve health care.
Republicans have always proclaimed themselves
the party of family values,
so I'm sure they would never let a government program
that provides health care to millions of children
expire without doing anything about it.
And there's no way this next clip will prove me wrong.
-Funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program,
known as "CHIP," expired today,
after Congress failed to come up with the necessary $15 billion.
Created 20 years ago with bipartisan support,
CHIP provides insurance for nine million kids
whose families make too much to qualify for Medicaid
but too little to buy their own insurance.
-Man, how soulless do you have to be
to let children's health insurance expire?
I'd say Paul Ryan would have trouble
looking at himself in the mirror,
if he had a reflection.
[ Laughter ]
This week has once again given us very clear proof
of who Donald Trump really is,
and who he and the GOP really serve.
Suffering U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico
are desperate for help,
and millions of children need health care,
but Trump and the GOP have no problem spending $2 trillion
on tax cuts for the rich.
We'd all be a lot better off
if Trump would just stop being president.
He could go anywhere. You know, even...
-An island.
Surrounded by water.
Big water, ocean water.
-"Water." This has been "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
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