Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, gave voice to this tension on Friday when she criticized acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke’s assertion that the federal response is “a good-news story in terms of our ability to reach people” and the relatively low death toll. When you don’t have food for a baby, it’s not a good news story.” 
 
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 Cruz said that as the situation on the island continues to worsen, people are scrambling to find food, especially in rural areas where supplies are not able to reach as easily. If anybody out there is listening to us, we are dying and you are killing us with the inefficiency and the bureaucracy.” 
 
 San Juan's mayor slams acting DHS Secretary Duke's comments about Puerto Rico: "Where is the good news?" https://t.co/tEhSz1fKUS — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 29, 2017 
 
 Democratic lawmakers and others have ripped President Trump’s response to the damage from Hurricane Maria, calling it inadequate. Tom Bossert, the White House homeland security adviser, said Friday: “I don’t accept that we’re doing anything short of everything we can do.” 
 
 Duke traveled to Puerto Rico on Friday and spoke briefly about her previous comments, saying she was proud of the work federal officials and first responders are doing. “The people of Puerto Rico have every bit of support from President Trump that he gave to the citizens of every other state in this country.” 
 
 Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló praised Trump’s strategy, saying that the president is “doing everything on his end” to help the situation in Puerto Rico. “No, it’s not enough, and that’s why we are bringing a lot more,” the three-star general said of the resources brought to Puerto Rico thus far.
– On Thursday, the acting Homeland Security chief declared that federal relief efforts in Puerto Rico amounted to "a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane." On Friday, the mayor of San Juan begged to differ with Elaine Duke's assessment. "When you're drinking from a creek, it's not a good news story," Carmen Yulin Cruz told CNN, per the Hill. "When you don't have food for a baby, it's not a good news story." Cruz did praise the feds for getting "boots on the ground" and President Trump for calling, but she said the situation was increasingly dire for the 3 million Americans on the island struggling to find food and water. "Dammit, this is not a good news story," she said, per the Washington Post. "This is a people-are-dying story." Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter Friday to defend the White House response. "Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello just stated: The Administration and the President, every time we've spoken, they've delivered," Trump wrote. The president thanked FEMA, the military, and all first responders, and added: "The fact is that Puerto Rico has been destroyed by two hurricanes. Big decisions will have to be made as to the cost of its rebuilding!" Part of the problem in Puerto Rico is that relief supplies are piling up at ports instead of being delivered as authorities deal with a blizzard of logistics.