Trump mocks puerto rico accent9/11/2023 ![]() ![]() The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny? Madison Square Garden's got your front-row seats. ![]() Is there a neighborhood full of world-class martial artists with superhuman powers? It's in Brooklyn. Is an Alien Invasion in progress? Watch for UFOs landing in Queens. When he travels to the island next week, Trump should look past the immediate disaster and the bright future that could lie ahead.New York City is the place to be for characters in American fiction. But here again, the key will be getting buy-in from the president. The right mix of private-sector incentives, plus a dose of hype from our brand-promoting President, might be just what Puerto Rico needs to go from wreckage to renaissance. If the plan is as good as Trump claims, corporations should flock to the island and bring jobs with them. ![]() Trump could also ask Congress to make a special test case of the administration’s tax plan – a place where corporate and personal taxes get slashed and set right where the White House wants them. With the island facing enormous costs to rebuild its infrastructure – billions that will likely come directly from the federal treasury – now is the time to create a viable, robust and independent island economy without the shackles of the Jones Act. The post-hurricane exodus will likely accelerate. The average pre-hurricane income of Puerto Ricans was only about $15,000 – less than half that of Mississippi, the poorest US state.Īfter the hurricane, employment and income prospects will be even bleaker, not least because a wave of middle-class families have been fleeing the island for years. The crushing multibillion-dollar debt owed by the island government and quasi-public agencies such as the electric company will likely never be repaid in full. Trump and his aides should recognize that no amount of relief, however speedily delivered, will seem acceptable to people who have gone a week without power, fresh water or adequate medical care.īeyond consoling victims and educating the public, Trump should convene a high-level discussion about the economic future of Puerto Rico, which was in dire straits even before the hurricane hit. “When you have to pull people down from buildings – I’m sorry, that really upsets me and frustrates me.” When you don’t have food for a baby, it’s not a good news story,” Cruz said. “When you’re drinking from a creek, it’s not a good news story. Trump admin defends its PR recovery response On CNN’s “New Day” on Friday, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz properly rebuked acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke for calling the government’s “a good news story.” This is a “people are dying story,” Cruz said. So one low-cost way Trump could boost congressional aid to the island is to stress, early and often, that the national government is responding to the plight of 3.4 million Americans in Puerto Rico – just as he would if most of Iowa (population 3.1 million) had no electricity or phone service and more than 1 million people without access to fresh water.Īnd it’s important that Trump avoid resorting to inane, self-congratulatory political happy talk at a time when hundreds of thousands of people are grappling with death, thirst, sickness and more. That ignorance has consequences: The same poll found that people who don’t understand the citizenship status of Puerto Ricans are less likely to approve of the idea of providing aid to the island. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) Carlos Giusti/APĬongress, help your fellow Americans in Puerto Rico The strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years destroyed hundreds of homes, knocked out power across the entire island and turned some streets into raging rivers in an onslaught that could plunge the U.S. ![]() People walk through a flooded area after the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the eastern region of the island, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, September 20, 2017. ![]()
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