Trump’s Florida rally featured an attack on the people of Puerto Rico who the president claimed were grateful to him for the aid.
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Trump told his supporters in Florida, “But you’re getting your money one way or another, and we’re not going to let anybody hold it up, and I think the people of Puerto Rico are very grateful to Donald Trump for what we’ve done for them.”
Earlier in the rally, Trump repeatedly complained that the people of Puerto Rico don’t like him, and the leaders on the island have criticized him.
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Trump spent much of his rally framing his attack on Puerto Rico with a sharply divisive and bigoted undertone. Trump kept telling his followers that Democrats wanted not to give money to Florida, but provide more funds to Puerto Rico. The message was clear. Democrats want to give money to brown people at the expense of white people.
Trump hasn’t given Puerto Rico $91 billion
$91 billion is the estimated cost of potential liabilities over the next 20 years. Puerto Rico has received $11 billion, with $40.8 billion allocated. It is a lie that Puerto Rico has been given more disaster relief than any other state or territory. Trump is currently blocking relief funds for the island, one suspects, because the people are not white, and Trump doesn’t feel like they have shown him enough love.
Puerto Ricans are suffering because Trump has neglected the island’s recovery. Donald Trump’s racism caused one of the worst humanitarian crisis in US history toward Puerto Ricans.
Trump is using Puerto Rico aid as a wedge to divide white and brown Americans.
Puerto Rico should be a shame not gratitude for Donald Trump.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
