VP Mike Pence tours islands wrecked by Hurricane Maria
"If you're going to help us, it's got to be now," a bearded young man told Pence as the vice president walked with
Pence, wearing short sleeves and cowboy boots, patted the man on the shoulder and later told reporters, "We understand his frustration when you think of the sheer magnitude of the loss, the impact on families, the loss of life being so grievous." He promised that better days were ahead and the Trump administration would be "here for the long haul."
Pence's empathy and reassurances in
Trump spoke at length in self-congratulatory tones Tuesday about the strength of the federal recovery effort and made light of how costly
Pence, for his part, said there had been "steady progress" on opening roads and addressing other challenges, but acknowledged, "we have a long way to go." He told Puerto Ricans he had "faith in
The vice president joined with religious leaders at the Iglesia Santa Bernardita church in
During a church service, Pence listened as Father
The vice president offered an upbeat message, predicting that one day the congregation would say, "
In the
Sitting in the back of the church,
As for Maria, Sanchez said: "It was a whipping that we received. It is something that people are never going to forget, like Katrina."
Pence then boarded a military helicopter to view the damage from the air, looking on as his convoy flew over
Pence described the wreckage as "overwhelming," but told local leaders, "the resilience of the people of the
Trump had hoped to visit the
There were few complaints.
"There is no country that responds to disasters like
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Ric Corley retiring after 50 years of vessel inspection
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