Relief might get the Trump bump
The early response shows answer is yes, some say
President Donald Trump’s tweets touting his administration’s response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and criticizing San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz for her “poor leadership” have gone over like a lead brick with many. But could there be a silver lining? Aid agencies say they’ve seen a strong fundraising response from donors that they suspect might have gotten a boost from the attention and outrage.
Charitable fundraising for storm-battered Puerto Rico reached new highs Sunday as donors stepped up after President Trump targeted San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz and others in a Twitter tirade.
It’s too soon to determine the full impact, but the early returns appeared positive.
MoveOn.org said its members contributed more than $1 million to the Hispanic Federation’s relief effort within three hours Sunday after a plea for money from Hamilton creator and star LinManuel Miranda.
Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian aid agency that has sent an emergency response team to Puerto Rico, saw an “uptick in Web traffic and spontaneous donations,” spokeswoman Lynn Hector said. Hector said she could not directly attribute the bump to Trump’s tweets but said it appeared “unrelated to any of our proactive efforts.”
The “uptick” came after a Trump tweet Saturday cited “poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help.” Trump added that “they want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.”
Miranda tweeted back, “You’re going straight to hell.”
Miranda’s parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico before he was born. In his letter to MoveOn.org’s 8 million members, he says that as a child he spent summers in Puerto Rico with family members. He worked on musicals during summer breaks from college in a wooden home built by his grandfather, he says. “There’s no shortage of heartbreaking stories about the devastation experienced by people in my beloved Puerto Rico,” Miranda wrote.
Hurricane Maria made landfall Sept. 20 as a monstrous Category 4 storm with winds roaring at more than 150 mph. The destruction was so complete that almost two weeks later, power has been restored to less than 10% of the island.
More than half the 3.4 million residents have no drinking water. Communication is diffi-
People want “to show that, even if our president abdicates his responsibilities, we as Americans will not.”
Anna Galland, MoveOn.org
cult. Homes were torn apart.
Anna Galland, MoveOn.org’s executive director, said her nonprofit advocacy group planned to release Miranda’s letter Sunday, even before the tweets. The letter struck like lightning, she said.
By Sunday evening, MoveOn.org had surpassed its original $1.5 million goal and raised it to $2 million, with about $1.8 million raised.
“I have been here for 10 years and I can’t think of any moment that intense,” Galland said. “It’s a combination of our members seeing the devastation in the news reports and people wanting to show that, even if our president abdicates his responsibilities, we as Americans will not.”
If the bump in giving is real, it comes at a crucial time. The punch of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria could lead to giving fatigue, some experts say.
David Schmid, University at Buffalo professor of American Culture, said it should come as no surprise if Trump’s outburst becomes a new catalyst for giving. Compassion fatigue is “very real,” but the Trump controversy could combat it, Schmid said.
People “who have seen the horror in Houston and Miami unfold, and might have paid less attention to Puerto Rico, could all of a sudden feel that jolt of interest and motivation,” Schmid said. “So while Trump being the focus could take attention away from Puerto Rico, it also could spark people’s attention.”
“While Trump being the focus could take attention away from Puerto Rico, it also could spark people’s attention.”
David Schmid, University at Buffalo