Brock Long, Trump’s FEMA administrator, wins first place as the most cold-blooded person this week.

While emergency supplies have still not been distributed to the citizens of Puerto Rico, and while the people plead for food and clean water; die for lack of medical care because of lack of energy; and basically suffer through the aftermath of the hurricane — Long echoed 45’s attack on Carmen Yulin Cruz, mayor of San Juan.

He is not engaging with the mayor because Trump doesn’t like her. Worse, he admitted to ABC News, he has stopped listening to her altogether. Asked about her desperate tweets pleading for help, he laughed and said, “We filtered out the mayor a long time ago.”

Had I been president of these United States, Long would have been fired minutes after his heartless comment. But I’m not, and 45 is, and that’s that. Congress, however, can find its backbone and start treating people and individuals equally, regardless of race, color or creed.

The outraged mayor, of course, is a woman. That disqualifies her from consideration by this administration. We the people, however, feel otherwise. Individual citizens and charitable groups are trying to fill the gaps left by FEMA and 45.

Individuals — at their own expense — are flying in supplies. Going a step further than Long’s FEMA, they are also trying to get the supplies distributed once they arrive.

It’s obvious my last article was spot on when I pointed out the military has the training, means and equipment to land in Puerto Rico and set up hospitals, housing, roads, bridges and all other essential needs during this crisis.

I can’t get the face of Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz out of my mind. She was crying, begging and pleading for help for her (our) people. And 45’s response? He said she and the people of Puerto Rico “want everything done for them” and need to step up and get the job done themselves.

Now we know what a golfing president thinks of people who don’t share his wealth. Sitting in the White House, he has no empathy for people in need. It’s not just sad; it is a crime that he can’t fathom the grief, hardship and pain of the common people (our people) in Puerto Rico

What is equally bad, however, is the lack of courage in Congress to take on this president — support him when he’s right but oppose him when he’s dead wrong. Congress does neither. They sit with their heads in the sand and allow this to happen.

I note with interest that 45 has now added one of the most essential Republican leaders, Sen. Bob Corker, to his enemies list. Corker, who is not running for re-election, doesn’t need 45, but it is apparent that 45 doesn’t realize it’s he who needs Corker to get anything accomplished in Congress.

Setting off an extraordinary squabble between two leaders of the same party, Trump alleged in a trio of tweets that Corker “begged” him for his endorsement, did not receive it, and then decided to retire because he didn’t have the guts to run for re-election next year.

In response, Corker of Tennessee tweeted, “It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.”

Our let’s-make-a-deal president has now insulted and demeaned Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Paul Ryan, Republican House leader; and Mitch McConnell, Republican Senate leader. Add to this list Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, and you quickly understand how little the man known for his “Art of the Deal” apparently knows of either art or deals.

Of concern to all should be Corker’s expressed concern that 45 is going to get this country into a war. Note the senator’s position. Draw your own conclusions.

Maybe FEMA isn’t helping Puerto Rico as he could and should because the administration now has to pay for the political show created by 45 and his VP in Indiana. Off went Pence to an Indiana Colts football game, at taxpayer expense. He was following explicit instructions from his idol 45 to leave the game if the NFL players knelt during the national anthem.

If you have the brains God gave a goat, a person of ordinary intelligence would clearly understand the players were protesting inequality, not the flag and not the anthem. When 45½ (that would be Pence) went to the game, their protest was not unexpected. Yet his trip cost a fortune, including the cost of the Air Force two, the security and the local authorities having to plan for his arrival and departure.

This was showboating at its worst. Once again, 45 has deflected attention away from himself and his complete failure to accomplish anything in any way other than executive orders (you know — the tactic he criticized President Obama for using). Now it appears that even some of his base has had enough.

“One country, indivisible, under our creator, and with liberty and justice for all” would be a nice goal. That is impossible, however, until more Americans in Congress rally around the likes of Sens. Corker and McCain … and until this entire country accepts the principle that women are not second-class citizens. Instead they are its backbone.

* * *

Back in the day, my dad invited me to lunch with him and Judge Myron Bright. I don’t how this came up, but I asked my dad how he felt and what he’d say when his decisions were reversed. (Dad was a federal district judge, and Judge Bright was on the 8^th Circuit Court of Appeals.)

With the smile that’s recalled by all who knew him, Dad said, “Don’t worry. Sooner or later they’ll get it right.”

Judge Bright broke out laughing and said, “That may be what he’d say to you, Tom, but he said a hell of a lot more than that to me.” Amen