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"Puerto Rico is very important to me," Trump said
Trump announced Tuesday he would visit the island next week
(CNN) —
President Donald Trump on Tuesday intensified his personal involvement in the growing crisis in Puerto Rico amid criticism that his response to the devastation there was lackluster.
There was an increased sense of urgency at the White House in confronting the situation, including Trump’s announcement – a surprise to some aides – that he would travel there in a week to survey damage left over from the storm.
“Puerto Rico is very important to me, and Puerto Rico – the people are fantastic people,” Trump said before meeting with lawmakers in the Roosevelt Room on Tuesday. “I grew up in New York, so I know many people from Puerto Rico. I know many Puerto Ricans. And these are great people, and we have to help them. The island is devastated.”
After critics, Republican and Democratic alike, accused Trump of ignoring the situation in public – choosing instead to focus his attention on stirring controversy over NFL players’ National Anthem protests – the West Wing on Tuesday was the site of a flurry of activity designed to show Trump taking charge of the matter.
Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean
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An apartment building is missing a wall in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday, September 25, nearly a week after Hurricane Maria devastated the US commonwealth. Power is still out in most places, and communications remain almost nonexistent on the island of 3.4 million people.
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Yancy Leon rests at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport near San Juan on September 25. She's been waiting in line for two days to get a flight out.
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An aerial view shows the flooding in San Juan on September 25.
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People collect water from a natural spring created by landslides in Corozal, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, September 24. Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said the island faces a humanitarian crisis.
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An aerial view shows a flooded neighborhood in Catano, Puerto Rico, on Friday, September 22.
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A man cleans a muddy street in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, on September 22.
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A man walks on a highway divider while carrying his bicycle through San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Thursday, September 21.
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A shack is destroyed in San Juan on September 21.
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A gas station's sign is damaged in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, as the hurricane passed just north of the country on September 21.
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Carlos Giusti/AP
Rescue workers drive through a flooded road in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday, September 20.
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A mattress that fell from the third floor is surrounded by debris outside a San Juan apartment complex on September 20.
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Damage is seen in Roseau, Dominica, on September 20.
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People walk through the destruction in Roseau on September 20.
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San Juan is shrouded in darkness after the hurricane knocked out power to the entire island of Puerto Rico.
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Carlos Giusti/AP
Power lines are scattered across a road in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on September 20.
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Carlos Giusti/AP
Residents move aluminum panels from an intersection in Humacao on September 20.
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Carlos Giusti/AP
Rescue vehicles are trapped under an awning in Humacao on September 20.
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Trees are toppled outside the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan on September 20.
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Carlos Giusti/AP
Members of a rescue team embrace as they wait to help in Humacao on September 20.
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A tree is damaged in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 20.
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Debris is strewn across a Fajardo street on September 20.
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Carlos Giusti/AP
A woman closes her property in Naguabo, Puerto Rico, hours before Maria's arrival.
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Carlos Giusti/AP
People take shelter at Puerto Rico's Humacao Arena on Tuesday, September 19.
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Carlos Giusti/AP
Two girls play on cots at the Humacao Arena.
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Waves crash in San Juan as the hurricane neared Puerto Rico on September 19.
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People pray in Humacao on September 19.
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A street is flooded in Pointe-a-Pitre, on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, on September 19.
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People stand near debris at a restaurant in Le Carbet, Martinique, on September 19.
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People in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, board up windows of a business on September 19.
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Dominique Chomereau-Lamotte/AP
A boat is overturned off the shore of Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe, on September 19.
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Jose Rodrigo Madera for CNN
Cars line up at a gas station in San Juan on September 19.