ORLANDO, Fla. — Vice President Mike Pence received some unsolicited advice Thursday as he prepared to survey Hurricane Maria’s fury in Puerto Rico: Go to the heart of the devastation.
Arriving at Orlando International Airport, Pence greeted a group of Puerto Ricans who had just landed and were getting help from relief agencies and local services at the airport. Walking table to table, the vice president met Everlinda Burgos, who had arrived earlier in the day from her home in Naranjito.
“Don’t go to San Juan. Go inside the country, like where I live,” Burgos told Pence, who listened intently along with his wife, Karen Pence. Burgos said President Donald Trump had visited “another part — not in the center” during his trip Tuesday to the hurricane-ravaged island. She said Pence needed to “go to the center because that’s where the disaster is.”
Promising to help, Pence said the administration would “work every part of it and help Puerto Rico recover.” He said that after the recovery, Burgos would be able to return home. “There’s no place like home,” Pence said, adding, “Can I give you a hug?” They hugged and then the vice president walked to another table.