--- title: Donald Trump Gives Himself a '10' on Puerto Rico description: President Trump gave his administration a "10" on its handling of the hurricane in Puerto Rico. canonical: https://time.com/4990022/donald-trump-puerto-rico-10/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-19T19:08:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:57:49.813Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Gave Himself a ‘10’ for His Response to Puerto Rico og:description: "I'd say it was a 10" og:url: https://time.com/4990022/donald-trump-puerto-rico-10/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f3f78ccedc2a5e3/6988e2b20a4a2226249d068e/gettyimages-863074122.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: President Donald Trump speaks with Governor Ricardo Rossello of Puerto Rico during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House on October 19, 2017 in Washington, D.C. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Gave Himself a ‘10’ for His Response to Puerto Rico twitter:description: "I'd say it was a 10" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f3f78ccedc2a5e3/6988e2b20a4a2226249d068e/gettyimages-863074122.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Gave Himself a ‘10’ for His Response to Puerto Rico > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=98791155-0bd0-40fe-9d06-004b4d51de51&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump: 'I Give Ourselves a 10' on Response to Puerto Rico Hurricane [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump: 'I Give Ourselves a 10' on Response to Puerto Rico Hurricane](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cwczlumC.m3u8) (0:41)  _Published 2017-10-19. President Trump gave his administration a "10" on its handling of the hurricane in Puerto Rico_ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Oct 19, 2017 7:08 PM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Oct 19, 2017 7:08 PM UTC President Trump gave his administration a “10” on its handling of the hurricane in Puerto Rico. Speaking in the Oval Office with the island territory’s governor at his side, Trump said that he was satisfied with how emergency managers had handled the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, despite widespread water and power shortages. “I’d say it was a 10,” he told reporters, repeating twice that he would grade it a “10.” The death toll from the hurricane is [now at 48](http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/14/us/puerto-rico-recovery/index.html), with about 117 people still unaccounted for. Roughly 3 million Puerto Ricans, or more than 80% of the island’s residents, [don’t have power](http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/18/health/puerto-rico-one-month-without-water/index.html). Nearly half of Puerto Rico’s [sewage treatment plants](https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/10/18/16489180/water-crisis-puerto-rico-hurricane-maria) are out of service. Hundreds of thousands of residents are [without adequate drinking water](https://apnews.com/fc9e9238f77e4053a02832040ba0ea97/Raw-sewage-contaminating-waters-in-Puerto-Rico-after-Maria?utm%5Fcampaign=SocialFlow&utm%5Fsource=Twitter&utm%5Fmedium=AP), leading some to get water from [polluted Superfund sites](http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/us/puerto-rico-superfund-water/index.html). “All of the armed forces, what they’ve done has been — Army, Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, all of the goods dropped in. Helicopters that weren’t even meant for this purpose, all of a sudden, they’re delivering food and services,” said Trump. “I would give a 10.” Trump also asked Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello how he did. “Governor, I just want to maybe ask you a question, because for the spirit of these people that have worked so hard, and so long, like Tom and like Brock and like so many others, did the United States, did our government — when we came in, did we do a great job? Military? First responders? FEMA?” he asked. “Did we do a great job?” Rossello remarked that Trump “responded immediately” and has been on the phone with him almost every day since the disaster. “Do we need to do a lot more? Of course we do,” he said. “And I think everybody over here recognizes there’s a lot of work to be done in Puerto Rico. But with your leadership, sir, and with everybody here, we’re committed to achieving that in the long run.” ## Transcript Between one and ten, how would you grade the White House response so far to [ UNKNOWN ]? I'd say it was a ten. I'd say it was probably the most difficult when you talk about relief, when you talk about search, when you talk about all of the different levels. And even when you talk about lives saved. It hit right through the middle Of the island. Right through the middle of Puerto Rico. There's never been anything like that. I give ourselves a ten. I think that locally, I really think locally they have, and this gentleman, great leadership. I have to tell you. It's a tough job. 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