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Hurricane Maria left Puerto Rico in tatters, without electricity, or food. San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, was severely affected by the hurricane's devastation. The San Juan mayor, Carmen Yulín Cruz, recently spoke to media about the US response to the natural disaster affecting the island, which is an American territory. She said that the response was delayed and the responders lacked sufficient and proper equipment to deal with the aftermath of the storm. Trump then responded in a string of tweets, blaming the mayor of "poor leadership" of her city, as well as saying that the Puerto Ricans were relying too heavily on the federal government to deal with the situation, saying it "should be a community effort."
Personally, I think the Trump Administration handled Hurricane Irma and Harvey quite well, making sure that people were evacuated and away from danger as well as getting first responders into the affected areas quickly rescuing trapped people. However, it seems like the Administration didn't put too much thought into Hurricane Maria because they knew it wouldn't hit the mainland, even though Puerto Rico is an American territory, and they are US citizens. I believe that Trump's response to this call for help by Puerto Rico was a very bad mistake, especially since he tweeted it from the safety of a golf course. It seems like he doesn't really care about it that much, and that is the wrong way to treat fellow Americans in dire need.
Thoughts?
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Saturday, September 30, 2017
With String of Tweets, Trump Blames Puerto Rican Mayor of 'Poor Leadership' During Storm Reponse
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6 comments:
I agree with the notion that the U.S handled the hurricanes well. The reason I think this way, is because I hand't heard of too many tragedies befalling out states. I believe they are able to handle this well, because of past experiences with hurricanes, such as hurricane Katrina. I do not know if the United States holds responsibility for Puerto Rico. My knowledge on that subject is limited, and as a result, I cannot say anything for certain. One thing that I have heard, is that Puerto Rico has abysmal infrastructure. As a result it would be hard to maintain any damage at all. In addition, I also had heard that after the disaster, power was cut out almost completely. From what I have gathered, I think that Puerto Rico cannot sustain itself in the condition it is in. In fact, the mayor of San Juan ( capital of Puerto Rico) states that "I am begging, begging anyone who can hear us to save us from dying". If America has a responsibility to help, I think they should. Furthermore, one thing about Trump. Whether Trump is a great leader or not is up for opinion, but I think that one thing he should be doing is keeping a good public image. Frankly he is not doing a good job of doing that right now. His response in twitter and perhaps tweeting from a golf field do not give him a good image.
Not only did Trump tweet from the comfort of a golf course, he also criticized the mayor of San Juan by saying that Puerto Ricans affected by the natural disaster "want everything to be done for them." As Kevin said, the US responses to hurricane Irma and Harvey were strong yet Puerto Ricans have had to depend on outside resources such as Royal Caribbean cruise lines to aid them in their crisis. Trump seems to only be supplying disapproval towards the mayor as well as blaming democrats for their contempt towards himself rather than actually supporting the victims of the hurricane. In my opinion, it should not matter whether or not Puerto Rico is American territory; it should be a concern to America, regardless, that a neighbor is suffering and in need and it is our duty as a community to help them in any way that we can.
The US did handle the 2 hurricanes before really well with great relief effort. Trump did tweet of how Puerto Ricans are not doing really to help out for themselves. Puerto Rico is US territory and Trump should not be complaining because THERE isn't much they can do to help themselves. If they could then obviously the would. tPuerto Rico is part of American territory; it should be a concern to America, no matter what, that people are suffering and in need and it is our duty as a community to help them in any way that we can.
I agree that relief efforts during the mainland hurricanes were extremely effective and did well to combat the destruction the hurricanes caused, but doing a good job during Harvey and Irma does not give Trump's administration a "free pass" to sit back and watch Puerto Rico fall apart. Puerto Rico is not part of mainland America, but it is still the country's territory, and should be treated as such, getting as much help as the areas affected by Harvey and Irma. Trump's recent trip to Puerto Rico did little to help, considering he trivialized the 34 deaths that occurred because the number is small in comparison to Hurricane Katrina's death count of 1,833 people. Rather than complain about the cost of helping out a neighbor, and belittling the island's ruined state, Trump should work on how to get Puerto Rico back on its feet.
I think that the the work done to repair the damage from the Irma and Harvey hurricanes was pretty successful and the government's efforts should be recognized. However, I do not think the response to the destruction in Puerto Rico has been what it should be. Since Puerto Rico is a US territory I think it is our responsibility to extend similar relief efforts to what what we did for Irma and Harvey. In Trump's recent visit to Puerto Rico I think his comments on death count and mentioning his budget was very inappropriate and is not helping public image.
While the hurricanes on the mainland were dealt with efficiently, the people of Puerto Rico were not given the same focus and aid. While Puerto Rico is American territory, the people are not given the same rights and respect of people who live in the US. Additionally, the environmental tragedies are results of the dramatic problems that we are facing. Trump, and many of his cabinet members, deny climate change and then criticize Puerto Ricans for suffering from it. Trump seemed sympathetic for victims of the hurricanes on the mainland, but refuses to take action that would prevent such horrible occurrences.
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