Americans
have gotten into the uneasy habit of wondering how low President Trump
might go each day in his multiple tirades against those he imagines as
enemies, critics and easy targets. But did he really have to pick on the
storm-ravaged American citizens of Puerto Rico, of all defenseless
people, and reveal such a cold-hearted lack of empathy for their plight?
Mr. Trump’s salvo of tweets
on Thursday as the island struggled with devastation — suggesting
people were ingrates responsible for much of their suffering — set a new
low, even meaner than his usual harangues and self-aggrandizement. It
called into question whether Mr. Trump grasps and accepts the
responsibilities of his office when he imperiously suggested that
federal emergency aid and workers could not be maintained on the island
“forever.”
In
his rant, Mr. Trump made it sound as if the island’s 3.4 million
residents were at his executive mercy. But in fact the federal emergency
process, backed by congressional funding, typically stations workers on
site for years to help communities recover from natural disasters.
“‘Puerto
Rico survived the hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of
their own making,’” Mr. Trump tweeted, citing and trumpeting the view of
a broadcast anchor. The island’s electric grid and infrastructure were
already a “disaster” before the twin hurricanes hit last month, he
continued, as if trying to bargain a weak adversary down in one of his
fabled deals. He alleged “a total lack of accountability” and pointedly
raised the question of how much Congress will be willing to spend on
recovery.
The
president displayed no hard-hearted budget alert in his previous
tributes and vows to persevere in behalf of earlier hurricane victims in
mainland Texas and Florida. He promised to be with them “EVERY SINGLE DAY AFTER” to recover and rebuild. He pledged a personal donation
of $1 million for the Houston area’s recovery. The contrast with Puerto
Rico, a United States territory with deep financial troubles before the
storm and no vote in the presidential election, became painfully clear
in Mr. Trump’s tweets.
Three weeks after the hurricanes, Puerto Rico remained devastated, with at least 45 dead,
84 percent of the island still without electricity, most cellphone
towers down, and less than 10 percent of the 5,000 miles of roads open.
The shortage of potable water is so severe that officials fear residents
might be tapping toxic Superfund sites.
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In
an earlier visit to display sympathy on the island, the president
oafishly contrasted the double-hurricane damage with “a real catastrophe
like Katrina,” which struck New Orleans in 2005. Rather than facing up
to a humanitarian crisis and the sufferings of fellow Americans, Mr.
Trump prefers to belittle Puerto Rico and question its entitlement to
recovery help. His compulsive need to shame people can only boomerang in
this case and shame Mr. Trump in any pretense that he is up to the job.
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