Trump to Arrive in Puerto Rico; National Guard Distributes Aid in Puerto Rico
HARLOW: All right. This just in. CNN has learned the mayor of San Juan will attend a briefing with President Trump today during his visit to Puerto Rico. The two, of course, have not been on the same page. They have traded barbs over and over again, over the mayor's criticism of the storm response and the president's criticism of her.</s>BERMAN: Yes. This should be an interesting meeting to say the least. President Trump lands in San Juan to survey the damage on the island. As he left the White House this morning he was asked about the relief effort.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Texas and in Florida, we get an A-plus. And I'll tell you what I think we've done just as good in Puerto Rico and it's actually a much tougher situation. But now the roads are cleared, communication is starting to come back. We need their truck drivers there. Drivers have to start driving trucks. We have to do that. So at a local level they have to give us more help. But I will tell you the first responders, the military, FEMA, they have done an incredible job in Puerto Rico. And whether it's her or anybody else, they're all starting to say it. I appreciate very much the governor and his comments. He has said we have done an incredible job. And that's the truth.</s>BERMAN: All right. CNN's Sara Murray in San Juan at the airport where the president will arrive shortly. Sara, what exactly is on the agenda today?</s>SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, we are expecting him to arrive, we're expecting him to meet not far from here with the Puerto Rican National Guard to get an update on their efforts. As you mentioned, he will have a briefing with the mayor of San Juan but a number of other officials on the ground here as well. The governor of Puerto Rico who gave an extensive briefing to reporters earlier today as well as the three-star general who's been leading disaster relief efforts here, and Brock Long, the FEMA administrator, who has been on the ground since yesterday evening, is also expected to be traveling with the president and briefing him today. Their goal, of course, is to give him a sense of the situation on the ground here. What the president is likely to see is San Juan. This is a place where cell phones are working again, where the power is coming on, where restaurants have been opening. It is vastly different than what we are seeing play out across the rest of the island. Just 5 percent of Puerto Ricans have power here. About 40 percent have access to a cell phone signal and about half have access to clean water. So there are huge swaths of this population that are still entirely cut off from the basic necessities of life. And when we were speaking to the governor of Puerto Rico earlier today he was saying he's actually printing out photos of the devastation across the island to try to give President Trump a more accurate picture of just the magnitude of the devastation on a personal level and on a humanitarian level. I think that's what local officials want to leave the president with and certainly they're planning on asking him for a very significant aid package in the near future here and they're trying to justify to him why that is necessary. For Trump, of course, this is going to be yet another test of him as comforter-in-chief. What he says to Puerto Ricans here. He's expected to meet with survivors. We're still waiting for more details on where that will be and who those folks will be. Back to you.</s>BERMAN: And it'll be a test of civility between the president and the mayor of San Juan also.</s>HARLOW: Yes. Yes.</s>BERMAN: As they're in that meeting. Sara Murray, for us in San Juan.</s>HARLOW: Thank you.</s>BERMAN: As you heard the president giving himself and the administration high marks for the response in Puerto Rico. What matters, though, is the reality on the ground. You can see the naval ship Comfort which has arrived in Puerto Rico today to start delivering medical supplies. Let's again talk about the reality in Puerto Rico. CNN's Leyla Santiago has been there since before the storm hit. Leyla, what are you seeing today?</s>LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're actually in a distribution center right now in</s>SANTIAGO (voice-over): Now, on the move, help two weeks after Hurricane Maria. (</s>On camera): So these are meals that are now being handed over from the federal government, FEMA, into the hands of the Puerto Rican National Guard. They are now on their way to remote areas on the western part of the island to get to the people that need it most. (</s>Voice-over): After an hour and a half following the convoy, one truck veers off to Guayanilla, still bearing the scars of Maria in southwest Puerto Rico. Badly-needed water, food. It's the first time the National Guard has delivered aid straight from FEMA here according to town officials. But it's not all for here. The rest goes down the road to another community in need. The vice mayor in this town of more than 20,000 admits the lines are getting longer. (</s>On camera): I'm asking him if this is enough.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.</s>SANTIAGO (voice-over): Frustration is growing.</s>GUSTAVO ADOLFO VEGA, RESIDENT OF GUAYANILLA AND VIETNAM WAR VETERAN: There are people here who need other people. Please do something.</s>SANTIAGO (on camera): Is the government doing enough?</s>LIZA MINNELLI PACHECO, PUERTO RICAN LIVING IN TAMPA, FLORIDA: Not enough. Let's be real. If this would have been the United States, none of this would have been happening. A lot of people have found --</s>SANTIAGO: But this is the United States.</s>PACHECO: Well, that -- no, a lot of people don't know that this is the United States and they don't treat it like the United States.</s>SANTIAGO (voice-over): The food sent by the U.S. government barely makes a meal. (</s>On camera): There are 20 of these in one of these boxes. They are an emergency meal. And each one has crackers, raisins, granola and some Vienna sausage for these people to take home. (</s>Voice-over): Less than an hour later, the announcement comes. There is no more food. (</s>On camera): She says she's sad that there's no food left, but at least there's water that she can get now for later. (voice-over): Federal help is arriving, but it's not nearly enough for everyone in need. Here in Guayanilla, the wait continues now for more water, more food, and more help from FEMA.</s>SANTIAGO: And just to give you a better idea as to how desperate they are becoming, the packages of water actually arrived when we were there, 32 bottles of water. The officials were actually cutting it in half so that they could reach more homes and distributing half to each person. And I've got to tell you about an exchange that I've just had just in the last 10 minutes. I spoke to the mayor of this town and he was holding back tears, holding back tears, as he told me from above, from the federal level, it may look like a lot is being accomplished, especially when stuff like this is getting out. But he is seeing people day to day, and he's saying the desperation is getting out of hand. I mean he told me yesterday, he had to deal with a gentleman who was about to commit suicide. I spoke to a doctor that was right next to him who told me that one of his patients is now eating dog food, eating dog food, patients eating dog food in a clinic. So on the ground, yes, FEMA, I'm seeing more of it. I'm seeing more of the aid. But there is still so much more that is needed when you just talk to people here.</s>HARLOW: And Leyla, quickly before we go, first of all, thank you for bringing us this day in and day out and with the weeks you've been there. But it sounds like the president is not going to go far outside of San Juan that we know of. Is that a concern among people there? Do they want the president much further out seeing what's going on in those parts of the island that have a lot less help?</s>SANTIAGO: Actually I just asked the mayor here that. I said, hey, you know, do you feel that the president is going to get an accurate reflection of what's going on and that was his concern. I mean he's worried that the president is not going to see the urgent need. When I asked him what's the message that you would give him he said this is urgent. People need help. And certainly on the other parts of the island, they're not even able to communicate. So, of course, people are worried that that may be a problem.</s>HARLOW: OK. Leyla Santiago, again, thank you for your reporting, very, very much. Ahead for us, in the grips of unimaginable horror, in Las Vegas, our next guest says he saw humanity.