Legislators demand Trump apologize for 'grossly inaccurate, callous' remarks on Puerto Rico deaths

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday September 20, 2018 · 8:54 AM PDT

2018/09/20 · 08:54

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 06: Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) speaks at a news conference as Jose Serrano (D-NY) looks on on Capitol Hill June 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus spoke about the recovery effort in Puerto Rico and mortality numbers caused by Hurricane Maria. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Over 130 legislators, including the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the House of Representatives, are calling on Donald Trump to apologize for his refusal to accept the hurricane death toll in Puerto Rico, calling his remarks “grossly inaccurate, callous, embarrassing and beneath the dignity of the Office of the President of the United States,” Congress member Nydia Velázquez of New York, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and other legislators said in a letter. “We call on you to immediately apologize and set the record straight by publicly acknowledging the official death toll.”

This week marks one full year since Hurricane Maria devastated the island, yet Donald Trump refuses to take any responsibility for how his administration’s inaction and lack of empathy worsened the crisis. Now he doesn’t even believe a months-long study on the death toll, falsely claiming that it’s some sort of Democratic plot to make him look bad. Instead of retracting his disgusting lie in the face of condemnation, he “doubled down on this comment in multiple tweets the next day,” the legislators continue.

“After a disaster, the President needs to lead the country in the recovery effort, not attempt to shift blame or openly question the tragic loss of life,” they write. “As President of the United States, you have a solemn obligation to lead and serve all American citizens, regardless of their political party or whether they reside in the mainland United States or in the territories. In impugning the Island’s suffering after Maria, you have abdicated that responsibility.”

Daily Kos’ Mark Sumner noted there was a stark difference in the attention Trump gave, through Twitter, to the hurricanes in Puerto Rico versus hurricanes in the mainland. “Trump has tweeted far more about Hurricane Maria in the last week, than he did in the week that included the actual storm.” It’s obvious why—Trump doesn’t see Puerto Ricans as Americans. But “Puerto Ricans are American citizens who have served and shed blood in our wars, giving their lives to defend our nation’s freedoms,” the legislators continue. “They deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect we would afford any American citizens following a catastrophic storm.”

Dignity and respect that was not afforded to countless Americans on the island, who suffered agonizing—and preventable—deaths due to the hurricanes. On October 3, Quartz, Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism, and the AP said in an extensive report on hundreds of deaths on the island, Luis Manuel Vázquez Rodríguez was “found dead on the floor of his bathroom. The 60-year-old diabetic had been in fine health, says his daughter, but struggled to find insulin after Maria. ‘Everything was chaos. There was no access to anything, to medicine … going to the pharmacy meant kilometers-long lines.’” Vázquez Rodríguez was not a Democratic plot. He was an American, he was a human being, and he deserved better.

“We call on you to apologize for your unconscionable and unfounded claims, which belittle the scale of the tragedy suffered by the people of Puerto Rico and dishonestly cast partisan blame for their deaths,” the legislator conclude. “We also ask that you improve your efforts to aid Puerto Rico in its recovery and to ensure your Administration provides an effective, efficient and compassionate response to Hurricane Florence. You owe this to the U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico and across the United States of America.”

Legislators demand Trump apologize for 'grossly inaccurate, callous' remarks on Puerto Rico deaths

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