How Trump joked about pressing the 'nuclear button' in trip to Puerto Rico: Congressional delegate reveals 'surreal' moment ex-president talked about global 'annihilation' and what happened when he threw paper towels at crowd after hurricane
- Trump famously tossed paper towels to residents after Hurricane Maria
- Former gov. says Trump told him 'we won't be second in line pressing the button'
Donald Trump said the U.S. 'won't be second in line' in pushing the 'nuclear button,' according to am explosive new memoir from the former governor of Puerto Rico that recounts his trip to the island.
Former Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló recounts parts of Trump's trip after Hurricane Maria wreaked devastation across the island in his new memoir.
Rosello, who Trump said did a 'terrible job' and eventually stepped down from his post amid massive street protests, did toss Trump a sympathetic comment on his infamous decision to throw rolls of paper towel to hurricane-ravaged resident – even while calling the move 'done.'
'The image plastered in history was one that demonstrates disdain and repulsion for the people,' Rosselló wrote in his memoir, 'The Reformer's Dilemma,' in an excerpt obtained by The Hill.
Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rossello (L) hosted Trump after Hurricane Maria thrashed through the US territory in 2017. Now retired, he penned a memoir where he says he was floored by what Trump said about nuclear war
'Was it dumb and incredibly thoughtless? Yes. The president should have known better. But that does not detract from the true story: The media narrative got carried away, which is happening more often than not in our political culture.'
He was less charitable toward Trump's comment on first use of nuclear weapons. He said Trump made it while they were touring devastation from a helicopter above, after the storm and it's 175-mile per hour winds brought mudslides and historic flooding.
'Nature has a way of coming back,' Trump said, according to Rosselló. 'Well, it does until it does not. Who knows with nuclear warfare what will happen…,' Rosselló wrote in his memoir, 'The Reformer's Dilemma.'
Trump's October 2017 trip featured famous footage of him tossing rolls of paper towel to storm ravaged residents
A man carrying a water container walks next to damaged houses after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, September 26, 2017
Rosselló recounts the episode in his new book
'And then, he said the one thing that made me more concerned than anything else in the entire visit,' Rosselló continues.
'But I tell you what…' He paused for effect. "If nuclear war happens, we won't be second in line pressing the button." This statement floored me. I could not believe what I was hearing. It was surreal. Was he really talking about total annihilation as we flew over the ravaged sights of the island?'
It came on a trip where Trump also told struggling Puerto Ricans that 'you've thrown our budget a little out of whack, because we've spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico.
Trump's campaign responded with a statement saying he 'abhors' the idea of a nuclear war.
Under President Trump's leadership, the world was safer and more peaceful than any time in decades. President Trump abhors the idea of nuclear war,' said campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.
'That's why his historic diplomacy with North Korea stopped the regime's nuclear tests and long range missile launches, which resumed after Biden took office. President Trump negotiated historic UN Security Council sanctions on Iran that left the regime weak and broke—until Biden enriched them. And it's Joe Biden who is leading the world to the precipice of World War 3. President Trump's top priority will be the safety and security of the American People. He is determined to return the world to peace. '
