This is worse than George W. Bush’s clueless neglect of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. This is purposeful, intentional abandonment of Americans out of pure spite for having criticized the “Dear Leader” and his relief efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Who does this? Trump threatens to abandon Puerto Rico recovery effort:
President Trump served notice Thursday that he may pull back federal relief workers from Puerto Rico, effectively threatening to abandon the U.S. territory amid a staggering humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Declaring the U.S. territory’s electrical grid and infrastructure to have been a “disaster before hurricanes,” Trump wrote Thursday that it will be up to Congress how much federal money to appropriate to the island for its recovery efforts and that recovery workers will not stay “forever.”
In a trio of tweets, Trump wrote” “We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!”
Three weeks since Maria made landfall, much of Puerto Rico, an island of 3.4 million people, the vast majority of the island remains without power. Residents struggle to find clean water, hospitals are running short on medicine and commerce is slow with many businesses closed.
Trump on Thursday sought to shame the territory for its own plight. He tweeted, “Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes.” And he quoted Sharyl Attkisson, [a television journalist with the Sinclair Broadcast Group (right-wing propaganda media), who left CBS News over her assertion of liberal bias for a book deal over it] as saying, “Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making.”
This is an overly symplistic analysis. Investopedia has a good explainer. The Origins of the Puerto Rican Debt Crisis. The massive destruction by Hurricane Maria only exacerbated the crisis. Abandoning American ctizens in dire straights because of debt owed to investors is criminal.
Trump has been roundly criticized for his leadership in coming to Puerto Rico’s aid. Trump, in response, has tried to portray the island as in full recovery mode, even as it suffers from enduring health, power and water problems. [‘Nothing, Nothing’: Aid Lags in Hurricane-Torn Puerto Rico, Where Recovery Is a Do-It-Yourself Affair.] During a visit last week, he tossed rolls of paper towels at local residents as if they were basketballs, drawing scorn from local leaders, and noted that the death toll was lower than the “real catastrophe” of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The death toll in Puerto Rico is much higher than has been reported, Puerto Rican funeral homes say Maria’s death toll is much higher than reported, and now a Health crisis looms in Puerto Rico weeks after Hurricane Maria hit (video).
In a visit to the island last week, Vice President Pence vowed that the administration will be with Puerto Rico “every step of the way.”
“I say to all of you gathered here today to the people of Puerto Rico: We are with you, we stand with you, and we will be with you every single day until Puerto Rico is restored bigger and better than ever before,” he said.
Once again, Trump’s albino poodle is proved a liar by the Twitter-troll-in-chief whom this lap dog serves.
Trump himself made a similar promise, saying in a Sept. 29 speech, “We will not rest, however, until the people of Puerto Rico are safe.” He added, “These are great people. We want them to be safe and sound and secure. And we will be there every day until that happens.”
This is an infantile man-child given to temper tantrums, and who retaliates against anyone who does not genuflect before him and praise his magnifence, or dares to point out that the emperor has no clothes.
Insanity.
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 50m50 minutes ago
The wonderful people of Puerto Rico, with their unmatched spirit, know how bad things were before the H’s. I will always be with them!
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 59m59 minutes ago
Hard to believe that the Democrats, who have gone so far LEFT that they are no longer recognizable, are fighting so hard for Sanctuary crime
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 2h2 hours ago
ObamaCare is a broken mess. Piece by piece we will now begin the process of giving America the great HealthCare it deserves!
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 3h3 hours ago
The Democrats ObamaCare is imploding. Massive subsidy payments to their pet insurance companies has stopped. Dems should call me to fix!
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 12h12 hours ago
It is time to take care of OUR COUNTRY, to rebuild OUR COMMUNITIES, and to protect our GREAT AMERICAN WORKERS! #TaxReform
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 13h13 hours ago
People are just now starting to find out how dishonest and disgusting (FakeNews) @NBCNews is. Viewers beware. May be worse than even @CNN!
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 19h19 hours ago
We need a tax system that is FAIR to working FAMILIES & that encourages companies to STAY in AMERICA, GROW in AMERICA, and HIRE in AMERICA!
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 20h20 hours ago
The time has come to take action to IMPROVE access, INCREASE choices, and LOWER COSTS for HEALTHCARE!
“The time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase health ins across state lines – creating a truly competitive national marketplace that will bring costs way down & provide far better care.”
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump Oct 12
…We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump Oct 12
…accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend….
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump Oct 12
“Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making.” says Sharyl Attkisson. A total lack of…..
And now this. Obamacare sabotage, full throttle:
Trump will scrap critical Obamacare subsidy
Scrapping the payments to insurers, which could happen almost immediately, is likely to provide another jolt to Obamacare markets.
By JOSH DAWSEY and PAUL DEMKO 10/12/2017 09:18 PM EDT Updated 10/13/2017 06:45 AM EDT
President Donald Trump plans to cut off subsidy payments to insurers selling Obamacare coverage in his most aggressive move yet to undermine the health care law.
The subsidies, which are worth an estimated $7 billion this year and are paid out in monthly installments, may stop almost immediately since Congress hasn’t appropriated funding for the program.
The decision, which leaked out only hours after Trump signed an executive order calling for new regulations to encourage cheap, loosely regulated health plans – delivered a double whammy to Obamacare after months of failed GOP efforts to repeal the law. With open enrollment for the 2018 plan year set to launch in two weeks, the moves seem aimed at dismantling the law through executive actions.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the decision in a statement emailed to reporters at 10:47 p.m. Thursday.
“Based on guidance from the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that there is no appropriation for cost-sharing reduction payments to insurance companies under Obamacare,” she said. “In light of this analysis, the Government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments. …The bailout of insurance companies through these unlawful payments is yet another example of how the previous administration abused taxpayer dollars and skirted the law to prop up a broken system.”
…
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/12/trump-obamacare-subsidy-243736
Today in a speech at the (ironically named) Values Voters Summit said that he met with the President of the Virgin Islands.
FFS GOP, end this.
how many az repuliscum voted against aid to puerto rico? I bet pro-life trent franks was one of them. weren’t any of them unborn yet.
It’s hard to pick out which scum is worse. So many candidates. Could have told Frank’s there were 20 million unborn to be saved and only 100 living humans. Oh I forgot, he does believe in reproction technology if he benefits.
Hey, here’s a hopeful note.
If Puerto Rico is unlivable, and Trump really does abandon them, we’ll see hundreds of thousands, or more, Puerto Ricans, who are America citizens, leave the island, mostly to Florida.
And they’re not going to be happy about how they were treated.
We could see Florida turn solid Blue.
The population of Puerto Rico is 89% Christian.
Trump and the GOP clearly hate American Christians.
Ft. Buchanan and Muñiz Air Base are in Puerto Rico.
Trump and the GOP hate the American military.
Puerto Ricans fought in the Revolutionary war and every war since.
Trump and the GOP hate American vets.
There are about 100,000 active and retired military Puerto Ricans.
Trump and the GOP hate American soldiers.
Puerto Ricans speak Spanish and do not have electoral college vot…..
Oh. Now it makes sense.
Trump and the GOP hate minorities and are racist POS.