In 2019, Trump Intentionally Held Up Disaster Relief To Punish Puerto Rico
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In 2019, President Trump did not want “one more dollar” in relief money going to Puerto Rico, according to NBC THINK.
Instead of providing funding, Trump lied, and claimed that Puerto Rico has already received $91 billion in hurricane assistance. [The $91 billion number cited by Trump is the amount Puerto Rico will need from the government over the course of 50 years.]
Puerto Rico, which faced two back-to-back category 5 hurricanes in 2017, has underwent a grueling recovery process.
The federal response, slow and inefficient, was marked by several notable actions by President Trump, including throwing paper towels at survivors, commenting that the hurricane that devastated the island was throwing the federal budget “a little out of whack”, and saying that Puerto Ricans “want everything done for them”.
Nevertheless, despite the difficulty of obtaining relief from FEMA and local government, Puerto Rico has demonstrated its resiliency, as neighbors help neighbors to subsist, rebuild, and survive.
