SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
President Donald Trump holds up a chart during a rally in Palm City Beach, Florida on May 9, 2019. (Photo: AP)
'Unhinged, Insensitive, and Lying': Trump Uses Bar Graph to Spread Falsehood About Puerto Rico Hurricane Aid
"His racism knows no boundaries," said San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz
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 Press reported, 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."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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 Press reported, 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 Press reported, 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.