US President Donald Trump has arrived in hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico, hoping to underscore government recovery efforts and repair damage done by his contentious early response to the crisis.
Mr Trump praised federal officials and the governor of Puerto Rico but jokingly chastised the island for jeopardising budget resources.
"I hate to tell you Puerto Rico, but you've thrown our budget a little out of whack," said Mr Trump as he introduced his budget director Mick Mulvaney.
The US President landed at Muniz Air National Guard Base to begin what the White House said would be a five-hour visit with federal responders, troops and survivors.
US President Donald Trump has visited Puerto Rico and told officials they should be proud of the hurricane recovery effort pic.twitter.com/PWkU2WEknQ
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 3, 2017
Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Maria thrashed the US territory, much of the island remains short of food and without access to power or drinking water.
One of the first people Mr Trump met when he and his wife, Melania, touched down in San Juan was the city's mayor, Carmen Yulin Cruz, who has repeatedly blasted the President as showing insufficient concern about the US territory's plight.
The trip offered Mr Trump the chance to show solidarity with survivors, who are still struggling to get basic necessities, and demonstrate how his government intends to help them recover after they were hit by Maria, the worst hurricane in 90 years.
A few days earlier Mr Trump had lashed out at Ms Cruz on Twitter for "poor leadership" on the weekend after she criticised his government's response.
We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico. Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates,...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2017
He cited "politically motivated ingrates" and said some people on the island "want everything to be done for them."
Mr Trump shook hands with Ms Cruz after his arrival but he saved his warm words of praise for other local and federal authorities.
"Right from the beginning, this governor did not play politics," he said of Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello.
Before leaving Washington, Mr Trump told reporters that roads were cleared and communication capabilities were coming back on the island.
He said the mayor had "come back a long way" since her criticism.
Mr Trump had criticism of his own about the local response.
"Their drivers have to start driving trucks," he said at the White House.
"So on 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."
Mr Trump got high marks for his handling of Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Irma in Florida and the Caribbean.
However he did not focus on the storm for days, instead launching a barrage of tweets over his view that National Football League players should be required to stand during the US national anthem.
