Trump: FEMA & Responders Can't Be in Puerto Rico "Forever"
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We asked CNN's Leyla Santiago who joins us live from San Juan to tell us about the facts on the ground about the relief effort -- Leyla.</s>LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the fact is hospitals have had to evacuate because generators are failing. The fact is that people are leaving this island because of conditions. So, as the president takes to Twitter to self-congratulate a job well done, Jake, the fact is, many have yet to receive help from FEMA.</s>SANTIAGO (voice-over): The destruction, a constant reminder, Maria's eye was here just 24 hours. Three weeks later, Puerto Rico is unrecognizable. But for us, this is familiar. We were here in Quebradillas just four days after Hurricane Maria struck. When we arrived, a woman, a complete stranger embraced me in a way I will never forget. Desperate, she explained no one else had been to her town since the storm. No one else had come to see if that mountaintop community had even survived. Her name is Brenda.</s>SANTIAGO: We wanted to find her again to find out how she's doing. (on camera): That's her right there. (voice-over): She recognizes us immediately. The mayor she tells us brought a box of emergency food. The neighbors all shared it. There's nothing left now. (on camera): The president has said that he's doing an A-plus job in recovery efforts, how would you grade.</s>RESIDENT OF QUEBRADILLA, PUERTO RICO: No. No, no way.</s>SANTIAGO: What grade would you give him?</s>RESIDENT OF QUEBRADILLA, PUERTO RICO: I'll give it a D. We have not seen anything.</s>SANTIAGO (voice-over): It's hard for them to give the U.S. government a good grade when they still don't have power or water. More than 80 percent of Puerto Rico, no electricity. Maria left these mountains scarred, mudslides are closing off entire communities across the island. (on camera): So this is as far as we can get in this part of Anasco. There's a whole community back there. You can see that there's water that's taken over the road, there's mud. Trees down, making it difficult to reach this community. So, we're going to have to go by foot in order to get to them. (voice-over): Along the way, we meet David. He's a veteran, an orange farmer from the neighboring town who just wants to help. He hiked in with a full crate of water and ice. (on camera): So, right now, you're having to walk through all of this, why?</s>DAVID ITURRINO, RESIDENT OF ANASCO, PUERTO RICO: For the people.</s>SANTIAGO (voice-over): The people. That's what makes it so hard for him. At 70 years old, he's one of the few reaching the people in this community that he loves. A half hour hike through an area once slush now stripped of leaves and color, we learn one helicopter landed here since the storm. The bottled water is running out, along with the food for Hosian (ph) five months old, completely unaware of the reality surrounding him. (on camera): She's worried about the milk and water for him. She only has two gallons left. (voice-over): Mom tells me, it's only enough for another week and a half. She needs more. She needs more power. She needs another helicopter to land here soon. A third of the island doesn't have clean water. As we move to another part of the island, we spot help. (on camera): What are you guys doing down there?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're headed up this road right here.</s>SANTIAGO: Are you bringing supplies?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we're bringing some stuff to them.</s>SANTIAGO (voice-over): In Utuado, the interior, the director of emergency management tells us they've been able to reach everyone here, his challenge, communication. (on camera): This is what they've been given out here. OK. It's got a number, it's got a Website. But in an area where there's no cell service and there's no Internet, that's a problem. (voice-over): He insists help is flowing. But it's not what we found when we talked to Sylvianne up the road. Her home battered by Maria, the floors still wet. No power here either. (on camera): I notice she doesn't have a roof, but I also notice that flag she's flying. (voice-over): The reason, she says --</s>SANTIAGO (on camera): She says that's their salvation. Among the devastation, the desperation, she says she flies this flag with pride, waiting for help to arrive.</s>SANTIAGO: And, Jake, when you talk to people like we did out in the remote areas, when you talk to first responders, when you talk to FEMA off camera, they will tell you, this isn't a matter of weeks or months, this is a matter of years in recovery efforts to get Puerto Rico back to some sense of normalcy.</s>TAPPER: A powerful piece from Leyla Santiago, thank you so much, Leyla. Appreciate it. It turns out all those trips President Trump takes to his club at Mar- a-Lago are not only expensive, the president might also be profiting from them. We'll explain next in our conflict of interest watch. Stay with us.