Published on Oct 4, 2017 
 
 Carmen Yulín Cruz has maintained a strong and firm position against how President Trump has dealt with the crisis in Puerto Rico. In an interview with Jorge Ramos, she responds once again to Trump and reiterates that the situation on the island is one of "life or death." 
 
 
 
 Infórmate: http://uni.vi/4mSgW4 
 
 Dale ‘Me Gusta’ en Facebook: http://uni.vi/4mSgZB 
 
 Síguenos en Twitter: http://uni.vi/4mSh2g e Instagram: http://uni.vi/4mSh4R 
 
 
 
 El principal programa de política y opinión de Univision donde Jorge Ramos interpela a los poderosos y profundiza en los temas relevantes de la actualidad. 

 Someone should probably keep President Donald Trump away from his Twitter account for the next 24 hours or so, because he's not going to like the "nasty" T-shirt San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz wore to protest him on live TV. 
 
 During a Univision interview, Cruz defiantly stated the shirt was in direct reference to the president describing her as "nasty"—and then launched into another critique of Trump's response to the crisis in Puerto Rico brought on by Hurricane Maria. 
 
 "When someone is bothered by someone claiming lack of drinking water, lack of medicine for the sick and lack of food for the hungry, that person has problems too deep to be explained in an interview. What is really nasty is that anyone would turn their back on the Puerto Rican people," Cruz said in Spanish. 
 
 As Puerto Rico has struggled to recover from the hurricane, Cruz and Trump have publicly feuded. But Trump has made it far more personal, while Cruz has tried to focus on the work that needs to be done to help the island get back on its feet. 
 
 "We are dying here. And I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out the logistics for a small island of 100 miles by 35 miles," Cruz said during a September 29 press conference. "So, Mr. Trump, I am begging you to take charge and save lives. After all, that is one of the founding principles of the United States of North America. If not, the world will see how we are treated not as second-class citizens but as animals that can be disposed of. Enough is enough." 
 
 The president apparently took issue with Cruz's remarks and responded by attacking her via his favorite social media platform. "The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump," Trump said in a tweet. 
 
 Keep up with this story and more by subscribing now 
 
 Trump was promptly condemned for not only attacking a mayor dealing with a crisis but also for referring to a female politician as "nasty." He infamously described Hillary Clinton as a "nasty woman" during the presidential campaign and has frequently been labeled a misogynist. 
 
 "Trump calling San Juan mayor 'nasty' is yet another reminder our sexist, misogynistic president can't handle being criticized by women," the pro-abortion rights organization NARAL tweeted on September 30. 
 
 The president traveled to Puerto Rico on Tuesday but has been widely criticized for his behavior during the visit, which included complaining to the island's hurricane-ravaged residents they had thrown his administration's budget "a little out of whack." 
 
 On Tuesday night, Cruz described Trump's visit as "insulting" to Puerto Rico and called him the "miscommunicator in chief." 
 
 "This was a PR, 17-minute meeting. There was no exchange with anybody, with none of the mayors," Cruz said. "And in fact, this terrible and abominable view of him throwing paper towels and throwing provisions at people, it really—it does not embody the spirit of the American nation, you know?" 

 Did you think the protest tee was over? Not according to San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. 
 
 During an interview with Univision Wednesday morning, Cruz wore a black T-shirt that spelled the word nasty, referring to the accusation president Trump fired at the Puerto Rican mayor early Saturday morning. In the same series of tweets, Trump also blamed Cruz for “poor leadership” and wrote that Cruz and other Puerto Rican leaders “want everything done for them.” The president continued his digs at Cruz during his Puerto Rico visit on Tuesday by praising Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló for “not playing politics.” Cruz, on the other hand, labeled the president “miscommunicator in chief” and asked him to shift his focus to “saving lives.” During the Univision interview, Cruz said, in Spanish, “What is truly nasty is that anyone would turn their back on the Puerto Rican people.” What’s clear, however, is that Cruz knows she can no longer rely on her words only. 
 
 This isn’t the first time that Cruz has used a T-shirt to convey what those in power wouldn’t hear. Last Friday, in response to Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke’s claim that Puerto Rico’s unfolding humanitarian disaster is a “good news story,” Cruz appeared in another T-shirt bearing a printed message: “Help Us We’re Dying.” It’s telling that Cruz has resorted to using T-shirts to convey the extent of Puerto Rico’s desperation. Despite repeated pleas for help from the island—and reminders that they are an American territory—the administration has been slow to respond. Whereas Trump visited areas affected by Harvey and Irma after four days, it took almost two weeks before Trump visited Puerto Rico. It took the White House a similar amount of time to waive the shipping restrictions that limited the access of goods and donations to the island. 
 
 A picture is worth a thousand words, and Cruz is using hers to transmit a powerful message. Cruz knows that, no matter how much she speaks, others with more power will always be able to mute her. She also knows that fashion is the speech for those who are supposed to remain silent—and it’s what, traditionally, First Ladies have relied on while leaving the words to their husbands. Michelle Obama became known for her “sartorial diplomacy,” as she wore local designers to champion international relations, while Melania Trump came under heavy scrutiny for the “hurricane stilettos” she wore to Texas, precisely because she failed to understand the powerful optics her clothing carried. Cruz knows that, in this day and age, it’s easier to block our ears than close our eyes. 

 Following his visit to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria, President Trump said in an interview with Fox News' Geraldo Rivera that the island owes "a lot of money" to Wall Street and the U.S. must "wipe out" its debt. 
 
 In an interview that aired on "Hannity" Tuesday evening, the president doubled down on his criticism of Puerto Rico's debt issues, a comment he reiterated to local officials during a hurricane briefing on Tuesday. 
 
 "They had 72 billion in debt before the hurricanes hit and they had a power plant that didn't work before the hurricane so we're going to help them, we're going do something and were going to get it back on its feet," the president told Rivera. 
 
 "We have to look at their whole debt structure. You know, they owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street. And we're going to have to wipe that out," he said. Mr. Trump added, "you're going to say goodbye to that, I don't know if it's Goldman Sachs but whoever it is, you can wave goodbye" to Puerto Rico's debt. 
 
 But just one day after Mr. Trump's remarks to Rivera, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney appeared to walk back the president's comments, suggesting to CBS News' Margaret Brennan that "we're absolutely not" bailing out Puerto Rico. 
 
 Brennan reports that Mulvaney was not aware of why Mr. Trump referred to Goldman Sachs as the bank to step up in "wiping out" the debt and was not aware if Sachs did indeed own the debt. 
 
 Mulvaney, who spoke to Mr. Trump after his interview, said that the president meant the island would have significant costs related to rebuilding efforts and would receive robust assurances from the federal government. 
 
 He added, on an appearance on CNN Wednesday morning, that the president acknowledged the island is "going to have to figure out a way to solve that debt problem in order to fix itself going forward." 
 
 "We can help it, and we will help it. We will help Puerto Rico rebuild from the storm. Puerto Rico's going to have to figure out its errors that it's made for the last generation on its own finances," said Mulvaney. 
 
 In his Tuesday interview, the president also touted his administration's efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma that hit both Texas and Florida respectively last month. 
 
 "This was a very tough one. You know, I say we got an A+ in Texas, we got an A+ in Florida, and we may have done our best work here but it hasn't been appreciated, but actually you see over the last couple of days people are seeing what we've done," said Mr. Trump. 
 
 The president said the people of Puerto Rico were "very thankful" to his administration during his visit earlier on Tuesday. He tweeted Wednesday morning, commending the news coverage that showed "great warmth and friendship" during his day-long trip. 
 
 A great day in Puerto Rico yesterday. While some of the news coverage is Fake, most showed great warmth and friendship. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2017 
 
 But when asked of his rocky relationship with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, Mr. Trump said Cruz was "very nice at the very beginning" but said "she went a little bit on the nasty side and I said I guess she's running for office, and it turns out I'm right, isn't that a shock." 
 
 Cruz, a Democrat, has not yet formally announced if she is indeed running for governor. 

 San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz wore a T-shirt displaying the word “nasty” during a television interview Wednesday, after President Trump repeatedly used the term to describe her. 
 
 Cruz said the shirt was meant to reference Trump's remarks as she discussed it during an interview with Jorge Ramos on Univision’s "Al Punto." 
 
 "What is truly nasty is that anyone would turn their back on the Puerto Rican people," Cruz said during the interview, which was conducted in Spanish. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 Trump and Cruz have been in a high-profile feud since the weekend, when Cruz criticized the administration's response to Hurricane Maria's devastation in Puerto Rico, and Trump responded by questioning her own leadership. 
 
 Trump also said Cruz had been put up to criticizing him by Democrats. 
 
 “The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump,” Trump tweeted Saturday. 
 
 Trump also used the term in a Fox News interview that aired Tuesday night, saying the mayor was "very nice at the very beginning" but said "she went a little bit on the nasty side and I said I guess she's running for office, and it turns out I'm right." 
 
 On Tuesday during Trump's visit to Puerto Rico, the two shook hands at the airport but the president did not call on Cruz for remarks as he met federal and local officials for televised remarks. 
 
 Cruz hasn't let up on her criticism of the president, though she has praised White House staff for their handling of the crisis repeatedly. 
 
 Cruz had praised White House staffers in a pair of tweets after Trump’s trip to Puerto Rico Tuesday. 
 
 “They REALLY understood the disconnect between how things are supposed to happen and how they really happen,” she tweeted. “Hopefully the newly open channels of communication with WH staff will put in motion what is needed to accomplish our goal: save lives.” 
 
 Trump's use of the word "nasty" harkens back to the 2016 campaign, when he called Democratic rival Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonTrump faces buzzsaw in ‘year of the woman’ Pollster: Rasmussen Research has a pro-GOP bias Top Gallup editor: Faulty polling led to inaccurate 2016 data models MORE a “nasty woman” during a presidential debate. 
 
 Supporters of Clinton embraced the term, with many people marching in the "women's march" the day after the inauguration identifying themselves as "nasty." 
 
 Cruz has been using most of her TV appearances to promote messages amid relief efforts. She wore a shirt that read “help us, we are dying” during a CNN appearance last Friday. 
 
 —Rafael Bernal contributed 

 Tweet with a location 
 
 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more
– The back-and-forth between President Trump and Carmen Yulin Cruz continues. The San Juan mayor gave a TV interview Wednesday to offer an update in the wake of Hurricane Maria, and she sported an instantly noticeable wardrobe choice: a black T-shirt with the word "NASTY" sprawled across it in white block letters. Cruz's shirt was a response to Trump tweeting last week that Cruz was "told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump." He repeated the description during a Tuesday interview with Geraldo Rivera for Fox News, saying Cruz was "very nice at the very beginning" but then "went a little bit on the nasty side," CBS News reports. "What is really nasty is that anyone would turn their back on the Puerto Rican people," Cruz retorted to Univision's Jorge Ramos in a Spanish-language interview, per Newsweek. She added: "When someone is bothered by someone claiming lack of drinking water, lack of medicine for the sick, and lack of food for the hungry, that person has problems too deep to be explained in an interview." Vogue picks up on Cruz's fashion trend, noting Cruz wore another message-carrying tee last week with her shirt that said "Help Us We're Dying." Meanwhile, the Hill adds it's not the first time Trump has wielded "nasty" against a female he views as his adversary: He also referred to Hillary Clinton as "such a nasty woman" during one of the presidential debates nearly a year ago.