Former General Says Puerto Rico Could Take 10 Years To Recover, While Trump Calls It ‘Great Job’

A retired general has said Puerto Rico could take 8 to 10 years to recover from Hurricane Maria, which killed 3,000 people. Lt. General Russel Honoré told MSNBC that President Donald Trump’s comments on the issue were not helpful.

“It’s going to take 8 to 10 years to recover,” Lt. Gen. Honoré said. “And the president’s words are not encouraging. But FEMA’s going to be there to help people recover as best they can.”

Honoré warned that rules could make it difficult for Puerto Rico residents to get houses.

“We really need to go back and do an analysis and we need to have hearings in the Congress to figure out […] and to make sure we don’t end up with another Maria. That was a Category 4 storm and we did not maneuver enough assets using the expeditionary capability of the United States military,” he said.

Separately, President Donald trump has tweeted that the response in Puerto Rico was successful.

“We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan). We are ready for the big one that is coming!” he said.

Last night, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported that almost $10m had been taken out of FEMA’s budget and given to ICE.

Watch below, via MSNBC.