Donald Trump is still waging war on Puerto Rico. The one year anniversary of Hurricane Maria, one of the deadliest disasters in American history, came and went on September 20 with not so much as a peep from Trump—who was busy holding a MAGA rally for himself in Las Vegas. Of course, no one would expect anything less, given that the racist-in-chief spent the previous weeks lying about the “fantastic job” he did responding to Maria and arguing that the death toll was made up by Democrats and hadn’t really reached 3,000.
This week, Trump doubled down on the recovering island and said that there would be absolutely no statehood for Puerto Rico as long as San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz is in office. As The Washington Post reports, Trump made these statements during a radio interview with Geraldo Rivera which aired Monday on Trump’s favorite MAGA channel, Fox News.
“With the mayor of San Juan as bad as she is and as incompetent as she is, Puerto Rico shouldn’t be talking about statehood until they get some people that really know what they’re doing.”
Statehood is a contentious issue for Puerto Ricans. In the past, the federal government’s position has reluctantly been that it will formally make Puerto Rico a state if the territory’s residents support it. But, for years, there has been division between Puerto Ricans who support statehood, those who want to remain a commonwealth and a minority of people who want total independence. The last time the question was put to Puerto Rican voters was in June 2017. At that time, an overwhelming majority (97 percent) of those people who voted supported statehood. But less than 25 percent of registered voters actually showed up to the polls—which left many questions about the legitimacy of the vote.
Now, it’s not up to Trump alone to grant statehood to Puerto Rico. Congress would ultimately have to approve that. But Trump’s refusal to agree to statehood puts him at odds with the island’s governor, Ricardo Rosselló. Rosselló wrote a letter to Trump prior to the anniversary of Maria to request that Trump allow Puerto Rico to become America’s 51st state. Because Trump is petty, a liar, and an opportunist, he couldn’t resist throwing Puerto Rico under the bus during his interview with Geraldo. Besides naming Mayor Yulín Cruz as the problem, Trump also said, “Puerto Rico should not be thinking about statehood right now.”
So which is it? Is Puerto Rico doing great because of the fantastic job the Trump administration has done? Or is the island so mired in mess and disaster recovery that statehood should be the last thing on people’s minds?
After the interview, Rosselló had this to say:
“How can the United States make the case for democracy at the United Nations this week, when they have under their flag the most populous colony in the world?” Rosselló wrote in a statement, reminding Trump that he promised to support statehood if that’s what Puerto Rico wants.
Rosselló is right—and, to be clear, that’s not an endorsement for or against statehood. Whether the Puerto Rican people agree on statehood or not, it is absolutely true that the island remains a colony subject to the whims of the federal government and the American president. It is nothing less than cruelty that Trump would use his very one-sided beef with the mayor of one city in Puerto Rico to deny 3 million people the resources they need. Remember that Yulín Cruz did not attack Trump until his inadequate response to the hurricane which cost people their homes and lives. It was only then that she became a vocal opponent of the administration—demanding to know where the aid was and why they refused to help millions of people in need. But Trump is a small man with a fragile ego and so he will hold Puerto Ricans hostage based on his emotions.
For now, according to Trump, statehood is a no for the island until it gets better leaders—otherwise known as women who don’t stand up to and embarrass him. And Puerto Ricans still remain divided on statehood, though they seem to all stand together on the fact that Trump is a tyrant and a bully.
It’s ultimately up to Puerto Ricans to decide what’s best for them—not up to Donald Trump. And, as with everything else that he touches, he completely botched the response to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria as well as the interview with Geraldo. After all, there was really only one appropriate answer he could have given when asked about statehood for the island: “Right now, my administration is working tirelessly to get the Puerto Rican people the resources they need after the one of the deadliest disasters in American history. A year after the storm, there are still people without access to power, clean water, jobs and stable housing. We are going to do whatever it takes to invest in rebuilding Puerto Rico.”
Sadly, that’s more like what the guy who held the office before Trump would have said. Whether they support statehood or not, Puerto Ricans will still suffer at the hands of a callous, racist, insensitive leader who could care less about them and will hold the island’s recovery hostage just because he can.