BUDGET/MICK MULVANEY/PUERTO RICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday [10-4-17] appeared to dial back President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. would help wipe out Puerto Rico’s massive debt load…
Trump on Tuesday sparked confusion when he told Fox News in an interview that people are ‘going to say goodbye’ to Puerto Rico’s debt problem…
Trump has repeatedly noted that Puerto Rico, which declared a form of bankruptcy in May, was in rough financial shape before hurricanes Maria and Irma wreaked further havoc on the U.S. territory last month. While visiting Puerto Rico on Tuesday, Trump said the island had ‘thrown our budget a little out of whack because we’ve spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico.’
While it’s unclear what exactly Trump meant by wiping out Puerto Rico’s debt, the U.S. territory’s benchmark general obligation bond tumbled to a record low price on Wednesday after the comment.
During his interview with CNN on Wednesday morning, Mulvaney said it’s clear that Puerto Rico needs to confront its poor financial situation.”
-Politico Staff, “Mulvaney: Don’t take Trump’s comment on wiping out Puerto Rico debt ‘word for word’,” Politico, Oct. 4, 2017 09:26am