After facing much criticism for focusing on the events happening in the NFL instead of the suffering of Puerto Rico, early Tuesday morning Trump announced his trip to the island next Tuesday which reportedly came as a surprise to many at the White House. Puerto Rico is still recovering from the damages that category 4 Hurricane Maria left, including lack of electricity throughout the entire island as well as excess debris, no gas, no communication systems and shortage of food. The federal response to the crisis of the island has left many people underwhelmed. Earlier today the president tweeted the following:
America's hearts & prayers are with the people of #PuertoRico & the #USVI. We will get through this – and we will get through this TOGETHER! pic.twitter.com/NcmsF4Fqpr
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
So far FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has provided more than 6 million liters of water and 4 million meals to the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A few million more liters of water and meals are en route to the affected areas as well. Although, it seems that according to ABC News, FEMA has refused to comment on whether or not they are working on restoring the power for the island as it has been reported.
The criticism for Trump has come from the fact that he seems to be more focused on the events of the NFL, Steph Curry, and the national anthem than on the people that are trying to pick up the pieces after the mess left behind by Hurricane Maria. He has tweeted endlessly about the need to fire players that kneel during the national anthem and about his anger about it when as the president, many believe that his focus should be on the recovery efforts of Puerto Rico. “Ratings for NFL football are way down except before game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our country will be disrespected!” he tweeted along with a string of other angry tweets about the #TakeAKnee events.
It is not clear whether his sudden trip to the island was due to this backlash he has received but it definitely seems so. He seems to be more worried about having this “become his Katrina” than for the lives of Puerto Ricans. His lack of sympathy is not surprising but nonetheless it is still heartbreaking as we continue to hear stories coming out from the island. We will continue to see if any changes in priorities occur within the next week after his visit to the island because tweets won’t do much when an entire population of people are suffering at the hands of someone who tweets furiously about football players’ First Amendment rights.
