(CNN) — Former President Donald Trump said this Tuesday that “no president has done more for Puerto Rico than me,” as his campaign deals with the consequences of a comedian calling Puerto Rico a “trash island” at his Madison Square Garden rally .
At a roundtable in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, organized by the conservative nonprofit Building America’s Future, a woman named Maribel Valdez told Trump: “Mr. Mr. President, I just want to tell you that I came here from Puerto Rico in 1981 and I want you to know that Puerto Rico supports you and Puerto Rico loves you.
Trump said, “Thank you.” “Okay, we like it. I know this well and we have helped you overcome many strong storms, I will tell you this. We had some really tough ones. You remember, you were there when I brought the hospital ship against everyone’s advice and we put her there, we treated a lot of people, I think no president has done more for Puerto Rico than me.
In 2017, after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico and caused a humanitarian crisis, both Democrats and Republicans criticized Trump for his slowness in responding to the crisis. The Trump administration eventually sent the Navy hospital ship Comfort to the island.
Trump told ABC News earlier Tuesday that he did not know the comedian and had not heard the comments, which sparked widespread reaction. The Trump campaign issued a statement Sunday saying the comments describing Puerto Rico as a “trash island” do not reflect Trump’s views.