[A]s storm-ravaged Puerto Rico struggled for food and water amid the darkness of power outages -- Trump and his top aides effectively went dark themselves.

Trump jetted to New Jersey that Thursday night to spend a long weekend at his private golf club there, save for a quick trip to Alabama for a political rally. Neither Trump nor any of his senior White House aides said a word publicly about the unfolding crisis.

Trump did hold a meeting at his golf club that Friday with half a dozen Cabinet officials -- including acting Homeland Security secretary Elaine Duke, who oversees disaster response -- but the gathering was to discuss his new travel ban, not the hurricane.