During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, celebrity socialist and new leader of the Democratic party Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took a shot at President Donald Trump for not doing enough to help Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Via the New York Post:
What we saw in Puerto Rico was a mass death of 3,000 people. It was the worst humanitarian crisis in modern American history and many, many people impacted by this storm point to government inaction as the cause of death,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
The progressive darling said her grandfather died in a medical facility in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the storm, but didn’t elaborate on the details.
“You don’t know whether a hospital lost power,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “My grandfather was in a medical facility and he had passed away in the middle of the night. The people who pass away in these storms are the most vulnerable.”
She’s blasted the Trump Administration for not investing in Puerto Rico and for not fighting climate change.
“It’s acute situations like this in which Puerto Ricans continue to be treated like second-class citizens,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Puerto Rico was given a fraction of the FEMA recovery as Houston, for example, in Hurricane Harvey.”
A few days ago, she said it’s time to stop “finger-pointing” and “INVEST in the Marshall Plan for Puerto Rico + transition to renewable energy”:
My own grandfather died in the aftermath of the storm. Uncounted.
Thousands of Puerto Ricans have similar stories. They have lost children, friends, & family members.
Instead of finger-pointing, INVEST in the Marshall Plan for Puerto Rico + just transition to renewable energy. https://t.co/ncukYyJsRu
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) September 13, 2018
But BEFORE she won her primary, SHE was pointed her own finger, but not at Trump. She was criticizing her then opponent, Dem. Rep. Joe Crowley for voting for the PROMESA Act, which established spending restrictions and was signed into law by then President Obama in 2016:
Joe, you voted for the #PROMESA Act. You’re part of this.
I wish you were outraged when Wall St banks wanted to buy up PR??. Instead, you sold it to them.
I’d know. My grandfather died in the storm. Your acts shut schools + starved public services when we needed them most. https://t.co/aN98oNBz2G
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) May 30, 2018
She even gave Trump somewhat of a pass back then:
You are correct here. It’s not entirely Trump’s fault. It is our fault – we allow the neocolonial status of Puerto Rico and tolerate 2nd class citizenship in the US.
Demand the right to vote for US citizens in PR.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 10, 2017
This backs up that the Trump administration inherited a mountain of problems on Puerto Rico, which is what made the death toll from Maria so high:
I don't think people in DC are ready for this insanely smart and policy oriented leader @Ocasio2018. She really understands the nitty gritty of policy. She is one of the few politicians to actually get how problematic the #PROMESA bill on Puerto Rico was. https://t.co/UcpQEn8AwZ
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) June 27, 2018
Thanks, Obama:
This is true. And before the storm Puerto Rico had been in a depression for eight years, and the island's infrastructure was weakened badly by a hedge fund government law passed by Paul Ryan and Obama in 2016 (a bill endorsed by @Lin_Manuel). https://t.co/emEaI3bx5l
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) May 31, 2018
You see, they knew the power grid was “problematic” back then:
I was working on the #PROMESA bill in 2016, and it was common knowledge how problematic the electric grid was in Puerto Rico. This isn't just a botched recovery, this neglect was understood at the time it was happening.
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) May 31, 2018
And like what Trump tweeted last week, the local government was “corrupt”:
The local government was corrupt and unpopular, Paul Ryan was his usual smiling thuggish self, and the White House hired invest banker Antonio Weiss to cut a deal with the hedge funds, which he did. No one wanted to actually show leadership and say 'let's fix this'.
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) May 31, 2018
It’s weird how the media no longer blames the previous administration from what Trump inherited, right?
I've spent a lot of time blaming the Obama administration for #PROMESA screwing up Puerto Rico. At this point though it's on Trump. https://t.co/gZ7cCIeuZG
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) June 1, 2018
FWIW, Hillary Clinton supported the PROMESA Act, too:
"I will fight with the people of Puerto Rico to put the island’s economy back on a stable and prosperous path." pic.twitter.com/x7bnMc8VoA
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 30, 2016
But it was unpopular at the time with many on Puerto Rico, including San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz:
San Juan Mayor @CarmenYulinCruz: "#PROMESA is a broken promise to the people of Puerto Rico" https://t.co/2LT9da6Pb4
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) June 19, 2016
And with Bernie Sanders, who ripped on the the “fiscal control board” required by the act:
Disappointing to hear that Puerto Rico's fiscal control board will include some of the architects of the crisis on the island. #PROMESA
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 1, 2016
Bernie left out that it was President Obama who picked them:
@ElCapicu #Promesa board members were chosen by President Obama…
— Cate Long (@cate_long) September 1, 2016
***
Related:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can't even ATTEMPT to explain how she'll pay for her spending package https://t.co/T88aQFl7AZ
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 16, 2018
Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warns that people had better get used to her slaying lewks https://t.co/CGiQknrqxF
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 16, 2018
ICYMI==> Michelle Malkin zings America's newest meteorologist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez https://t.co/YXPzXxguh1
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 13, 2018
Join the conversation as a VIP Member