Hurricane Maria: Puerto Ricans Fire Back At Trump
Puerto Ricans reacted harshly on Saturday to President Trump’s tweets that leaders of the hurricane-ravaged Caribbean island “want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.”
Several Puerto Ricans contacted by CNN stood up for San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, who apparently provoked the Trump tweet with a call for more aid, and many said the Puerto Rican community at home and abroad is already working together.
“I’m amazed that he has the gall to say Puerto Ricans expect everything to be done for them,” said Abner Breban of Atlanta, who started a Facebook group to raise money for relief.
“They are working exhaustively to lift themselves up. We are citizens. We pay taxes. We serve in the military.”
“It is a community effort,” Evelyn Torres said at a fund-raising event in the Bronx.
“It is a humanity effort.” Speaking from San Juan, Renee Acosta said, “If he’s not here, he shouldn’t be criticizing the community efforts.”
