TRUMP’S P.R.OBLEM
Prez: Puerto Rico got $91B in ’cane aid Truth: Just $11B doled out for Maria Prez: Island’s pols ‘only take from USA’ Truth: They ARE U.S. citizens!
President Trump lashed out against Puerto Rican politicians Tuesday, thumbing out a string of fact-challenged tweets that appeared to question the hurricane-ravaged island’s status as a U.S. territory.
Trump unleashed the social media tsunami on the heels of Senate Democrats blocking a Republican disaster aid package for Puerto Rico and other U.S. areas devastated by natural disasters. The Democrats argued the measure did not earmark enough funds for Puerto Rico.
“Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before, & all their politicians do is complain & ask for more money,” Trump tweeted incorrectly.
In fact, the federal government has only forked over about $11 billion to Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria hit in 2017. That’s a far cry from the more than $120 billion that the government has spent on restoration in Southern states since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
The death toll from Maria has been estimated to be between 2,600 and 3,200 people. Katrina, by contrast, was responsible for the death of 1,200 people.
The $91 billion Trump referenced appeared to encapsulate federal disaster aid that Puerto Rico has received over several decades. A White House spokesman did not return a request for clarification. Trump has time and again expressed reluctance to bankroll hurricane recovery in Puerto Rico and often displays a refusal to accept that Puerto Ricans are as American as citizens living in the continental U.S.
The president continued that train of thought in the Tuesday Twitter spree, claiming “grossly incompetent” Puerto Rican politicians “only take from USA” — even though they’re by law part of the country.
“The best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump,” he tweeted. “So many wonderful people, but with such bad Island leadership and with so much money wasted.”
Once again displaying his preference for continental U.S. over Puerto Rico, Trump added, “Cannot continue to hurt our Farmers and States with these massive payments, and so little appreciation!”
Overnight, shortly after the Senate rejected the GOP disaster aid package in a 44-49 vote, Trump peculiarly referred to Puerto Rico as a “place” — a phrase White House spokesman Hogan Gidley appeared to expand on Monday morning.
“All we’ve done in that country, we have had a systematic mismanagement of the goods and services we’ve sent to them,” Gidley said in an interview on MSNBC. “Their governor has done a horrible job …. He’s trying to find someone to take the blame off of him for not having a good grid and not having
a good system in that country at all.”
Despite Gidley's claim, Puerto Rico is not a “country” but a U.S. territory. Later in the interview, Gidley said his comment was “a slip of the tongue.”
Puerto Rican leaders and Democrats across the U.S. excoriated the White House slights.
“Mr. President, STOP spreading misinformation! Puerto Rico has not received $91 billion (only $300 million in permanent work),” Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello tweeted, referencing funds that have actually been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for permanent projects.
“It's not ‘us' vs ‘them,' ” Rossello continued. “It's about Americans in need… Mr. President, once again, we are not your adversaries, we are your citizens.”
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., whose county has the highest concentration of Puerto Rican residents in the U.S., called Trump's response “nothing short of a disgrace” and recalled the president's infamous paper towel toss while visiting the island in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
“Nothing exemplifies the president's indifference toward the island like the day he was tossing paper towels into a crowd of people who needed genuine help, like a natural disaster is some sort sick game to him,” Diaz said in a statement. “His treatment of Puerto Rico and its people has been revolting.”
The $13.5 billion disaster package rejected by Democratic senators late Monday needed 60 votes to pass.
In addition to aid for Puerto Rico, the measure included restoration cash for Midwestern states devastated by flooding, communities in California recovering from wildfires as well as hurricane-hit states such as Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
Democrats wanted the bill to include about $700 million more for Puerto Rico and other states.
“Just as we leave no soldier behind on the battlefield, we help our fellow Americans when there's a disaster, wherever the disaster strikes,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said of the Puerto Rico cash. “We do not abandon them. Period.”