On Tuesday during his State of the Union speech, Donald Trump tried to convince the American people that he stands with hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. Of course, Puerto Ricans know better. Despite his words of love and supposed well-wishes, Trump has spent little time talking about the situation on the island. Of the minuscule amount of time he has actually focused on Puerto Rico, he has made sure to congratulate himself on the recovery effort while simultaneously blaming Puerto Ricans for the financial crisis they face.
Though the situation there is still dire and at least one-third of the island is without power, this week FEMA announced that they will end food and water aid to the island. So you can’t blame San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz for saying that Trump’s remarks during the State of the Union are nothing more than hypocrisy.
[Asked] by CNN's Christiane Amanpour about Trump's comments, Yulín Cruz said, "The President has not been with the people of Puerto Rico," and that his words were an "utter statement of hypocrisy."
"Thirty-five percent of our people do not have electricity. Our children are going to school only part time. Half a million homes are totally disrupted, either need to be rebuilt completely or need to have their roof put back on," she said of the damage from hurricanes Irma and Maria, which left more than 3 million Puerto Ricans in need of assistance.
It’s unclear what love looks like to Trump but its certain that his “love” isn’t the kind that will be useful to Puerto Ricans—nor will it help them survive this nightmare. After all, it’s not just that FEMA has botched its response and that local government on the island is corrupt. Trump’s policies are also a stranglehold on the island, bankrupting local businesses and families, all the while making a profit for large corporations.
As far as Yulín Cruz is concerned, she told Amanpour, Trump "speaks out of both sides of his mouth."
"On the one hand, he says he wants to help Puerto Rico. On the other hand, he imposed a 20% income tax on every good and service that comes from Puerto Rico into the United States. On the one hand, he says we will be with you for the long run. And on the other hand, the [Food and Drug Administration] is trying to convince pharmaceutical companies to leave Puerto Rico," she told Amanpour.
"He says he cares and he came here and threw paper towels at us," she continued, referring to Trump's visit to the city of Guaynabo in October. "And on the other hand, he doesn't provide his administration with a clear set of goals to help Puerto Rico."
Millions of us knew that Donald Trump would make a terrible leader and cause irreparable damage to our country and to our democracy. That’s why we didn’t vote for him. But who imagined that intentionally starving and refusing help to an island full of Americans after an unprecedented natural disaster would also make his list of failures? Carmen Yulin Cruz is right—Trump is a hypocrite (in addition to some much stronger adjectives). He hasn’t done anything but harm Puerto Ricans in their time of need. If that’s his version of love and solidarity, he should most certainly keep it to himself.