To the editor:

“They want everything done for them.”

Donald J. Trump tweeted this criticism of the residents of Puerto Rico whose homeland was flattened by a Category 4 hurricane. This statement — as are so many of Trump’s statements and actions — is appalling on multiple levels. Here are a few:

1. It’s heartless. This island out there in the middle of the ocean, that big, tough ocean, has suffered a catastrophic event. Its residents are our fellow humans. They are also U.S. citizens like us. Our government can help them and so it must.
2. It’s grammatically flawed. They don’t WANT everything done for them; they NEED everything done for them right now. There’s a fundamental difference between these two verbs: Trump wants to pardon himself and he wants two scoops of ice cream and he wants his tax “reform” to pass but the people of Puerto Rico need water and they need food and they need medical supplies. It’s a matter of survival not desire.
3. It’s silly. They don’t want everything done for them: people like Donald J. Trump want everything — cooking and serving and gardening and housecleaning and driving and grape-picking — done for them. Preferably by Puerto Ricans whenever possible.
4. It’s outrageous. This is the kind of thing a spoiled brat whines about . . . Ladies and gentlemen: the President of the United States.