President Donald Trump holds up a chart during a rally in Palm City Beach, Florida on May 9, 2019. (Photo: AP)
May 09, 2019
President Donald Trump spent the opening minutes of a campaign rally in Panama City Beach, Florida on Wednesday attacking hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico for not sufficiently appreciating his administration's relief efforts--which critics have decried as grossly inadequate--and attempting to use a bar graph to bolster his repeatedly debunked claim that the island has received a record amount of storm aid.
"I brought a chart. Would you like to see a chart?" Trump said, pulling a piece of paper from his jacket pocket to cheers from the audience.
"That's Puerto Rico and they don't like me," said the president, pointing to a section of the bar graph purporting to show that Puerto Rico has received $91 billion in hurricane relief funding.
As The Associated Pressreported, Trump's "number is wrong, as is his assertion that the U.S. territory has set some record for federal disaster aid. Congress has so far distributed only about $11 billion for Puerto Rico, not $91 billion."
\u201cTrump, who opened his speech touting how much disaster relief he's given to Florida, indicates he thinks people of hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico are ungrateful. \n\nHe then brandishes chart purportedly showing how much more he's given PR than elsewhere & bashes PR politicians.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1557360368
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz--who Trump has repeatedly singled out in his attacks on Puerto Rico's political leaders--slammed the president's remarks on Twitter.
"Unhinged, insensitive, and lying," Cruz wrote. "His racism knows no boundaries."
Others echoed Cruz:
\u201cA real monster, riling up hatred and resentment against a devastated American island. https://t.co/16N08qlo9H\u201d— Jesse Lee (@Jesse Lee) 1557363842
As Common Dreams reported in March, over a million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico have faced large cuts to food stamps and other services in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria as a relief package--which also includes disaster aid to Florida and other states--remains stalled in Congress due to opposition from Republicans and the Trump administration.
Even in the face of the island's devastating circumstances, Trump has reportedly said that he "doesn't want another single dollar" going to Puerto Rico.
In a statement following the president's rally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Democrats are moving ahead this week with a $17.2 billion disaster relief package that includes aid to Puerto Rico.
"Sadly, Senate Republicans have been more committed to hurting our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico than healing communities everywhere," Pelosi said. "Meanwhile, the president has doubled down on Republicans' callousness, deliberately delaying assistance payments to Puerto Rico and inflicting more needless suffering on the Americans who are still reeling from his administration's disastrous response to the hurricanes."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump spent the opening minutes of a campaign rally in Panama City Beach, Florida on Wednesday attacking hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico for not sufficiently appreciating his administration's relief efforts--which critics have decried as grossly inadequate--and attempting to use a bar graph to bolster his repeatedly debunked claim that the island has received a record amount of storm aid.
"I brought a chart. Would you like to see a chart?" Trump said, pulling a piece of paper from his jacket pocket to cheers from the audience.
"That's Puerto Rico and they don't like me," said the president, pointing to a section of the bar graph purporting to show that Puerto Rico has received $91 billion in hurricane relief funding.
As The Associated Pressreported, Trump's "number is wrong, as is his assertion that the U.S. territory has set some record for federal disaster aid. Congress has so far distributed only about $11 billion for Puerto Rico, not $91 billion."
\u201cTrump, who opened his speech touting how much disaster relief he's given to Florida, indicates he thinks people of hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico are ungrateful. \n\nHe then brandishes chart purportedly showing how much more he's given PR than elsewhere & bashes PR politicians.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1557360368
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz--who Trump has repeatedly singled out in his attacks on Puerto Rico's political leaders--slammed the president's remarks on Twitter.
"Unhinged, insensitive, and lying," Cruz wrote. "His racism knows no boundaries."
Others echoed Cruz:
\u201cA real monster, riling up hatred and resentment against a devastated American island. https://t.co/16N08qlo9H\u201d— Jesse Lee (@Jesse Lee) 1557363842
As Common Dreams reported in March, over a million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico have faced large cuts to food stamps and other services in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria as a relief package--which also includes disaster aid to Florida and other states--remains stalled in Congress due to opposition from Republicans and the Trump administration.
Even in the face of the island's devastating circumstances, Trump has reportedly said that he "doesn't want another single dollar" going to Puerto Rico.
In a statement following the president's rally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Democrats are moving ahead this week with a $17.2 billion disaster relief package that includes aid to Puerto Rico.
"Sadly, Senate Republicans have been more committed to hurting our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico than healing communities everywhere," Pelosi said. "Meanwhile, the president has doubled down on Republicans' callousness, deliberately delaying assistance payments to Puerto Rico and inflicting more needless suffering on the Americans who are still reeling from his administration's disastrous response to the hurricanes."
President Donald Trump spent the opening minutes of a campaign rally in Panama City Beach, Florida on Wednesday attacking hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico for not sufficiently appreciating his administration's relief efforts--which critics have decried as grossly inadequate--and attempting to use a bar graph to bolster his repeatedly debunked claim that the island has received a record amount of storm aid.
"I brought a chart. Would you like to see a chart?" Trump said, pulling a piece of paper from his jacket pocket to cheers from the audience.
"That's Puerto Rico and they don't like me," said the president, pointing to a section of the bar graph purporting to show that Puerto Rico has received $91 billion in hurricane relief funding.
As The Associated Pressreported, Trump's "number is wrong, as is his assertion that the U.S. territory has set some record for federal disaster aid. Congress has so far distributed only about $11 billion for Puerto Rico, not $91 billion."
\u201cTrump, who opened his speech touting how much disaster relief he's given to Florida, indicates he thinks people of hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico are ungrateful. \n\nHe then brandishes chart purportedly showing how much more he's given PR than elsewhere & bashes PR politicians.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1557360368
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz--who Trump has repeatedly singled out in his attacks on Puerto Rico's political leaders--slammed the president's remarks on Twitter.
"Unhinged, insensitive, and lying," Cruz wrote. "His racism knows no boundaries."
Others echoed Cruz:
\u201cA real monster, riling up hatred and resentment against a devastated American island. https://t.co/16N08qlo9H\u201d— Jesse Lee (@Jesse Lee) 1557363842
As Common Dreams reported in March, over a million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico have faced large cuts to food stamps and other services in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria as a relief package--which also includes disaster aid to Florida and other states--remains stalled in Congress due to opposition from Republicans and the Trump administration.
Even in the face of the island's devastating circumstances, Trump has reportedly said that he "doesn't want another single dollar" going to Puerto Rico.
In a statement following the president's rally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Democrats are moving ahead this week with a $17.2 billion disaster relief package that includes aid to Puerto Rico.
"Sadly, Senate Republicans have been more committed to hurting our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico than healing communities everywhere," Pelosi said. "Meanwhile, the president has doubled down on Republicans' callousness, deliberately delaying assistance payments to Puerto Rico and inflicting more needless suffering on the Americans who are still reeling from his administration's disastrous response to the hurricanes."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.