Trump Arrives In Puerto Rico

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Donald Trump finally arrived in Puerto Rico on Tuesday to see the state of the island in person after the devastating passage of Hurricane Maria, which has left the United States on the brink of a humanitarian crisis.

The president, who has been criticized for his apparent slow response to the catastrophe, landed on the Air Force One plane at around noon EST, at the air base next to the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan.

When he got off the plane with his wife Melania Trump, he was received by Governor Ricardo Roselló, who had his daughter in his arms, and his wife Beatriz Roselló, who is pregnant with the couple's second child.

“Your governor [ Roselló] I have heard a lot about him. He is not even from my party and from the beginning he has appreciated what we have done. He has given us support. He knows the level of problems that exist from the beginning and later with the tremendous storms that affected this beautiful island, "Trump said in a meeting with local, federal and military authorities at the same airport.

I want to tell you governor … From the beginning this governor has not played politics. He has said things as they are and has given us the highest marks. On behalf of my team, I want to thank you”, he added.

He also thanked Jennifer González Colón, the Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner in Washington, for her compliments to the work of the Federal Disaster Management Agency (FEMA) and the fluid communication with the federal administration.

He also congratulated the army, the coast guard and the navy, among others, for their work in the rescue and relief efforts for the victims.

Who did not give the floor was the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, with whom she had public disagreements in the networks about the federal response to the crisis. Of course, according to some images of the meeting, they greeted each other with a handshake.

As is customary in the president, his speech was not without controversy. At one point he regretted the cost of federal aid to Puerto Rico after the catastrophe. "Puerto Rico tastes bad to say it, but we have gotten the budget out of whack," said the president, who has made cutting federal spending one of his priorities.

Another striking moment was when he said he was "proud" that there were only 16 fatalities attributed to Mary, compared to "the thousands" who died in a "true catastrophe" like Katrina.

After that meeting at the airport, the president went with the governor and their respective wives to some areas of San Juan, where he was able to talk with some of the victims of the cyclone and hear how they managed to survive the winds of 155 miles by hour.

From there they were going to move to the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, which participates in relief efforts, to meet with the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, Kenneth Mapp, who were also devastated by Maria.

The visit of the first president of the United States to the Island of Enchantment comes almost two weeks after suffering the catastrophic blow of the hurricane, which left the vast majority of the 3.4 million residents without water and electricity, who since then have faced shortages of fuel, food and basic supplies.

This without counting the thousands of houses that have suffered damage, in addition to public infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and reservoirs.