President Trump often claims that his priority is putting America first and making America great again, but just how far does that extend? He seems to be forgetting that America is larger than just his base of dedicated voters. Puerto Ricans are Americans too.
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory, which basically means that the US government controls the region but not all of the constitutional protections afforded to Americans are held by Puerto Ricans. Nonetheless, Puerto Ricans are natural-born American citizens with their president being Donald Trump.
…We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2017
It’s an island of over 3.4 million people and over 5 million Puerto Ricans live in the United States. As The Guardian reports, there’s a massive food shortage in Puerto Rico due to the devastation Hurricane Maria caused. CNN reports that 83 percent of Puerto Rico is without power, according to the Puerto Rican government.
Over a third of the country lacks drinking water and many are dying from easily preventable illnesses. This is a matter of urgency and an emergency. Now is not the time to be talking about pulling out, instead we should be talking about doing more and doing more effectively, as Senator Dianne Feinstein pointed out.
Puerto Ricans are Americans, and we don’t abandon each other. The federal government should stay in Puerto Rico as long as necessary.
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) October 12, 2017
Puerto Rico doesn’t want FEMA, the military, and First Responders to be there indefinitely either. This is a collaborative effort where we come together to prevent a humanitarian disaster. After the hurricanes that hit Florida and Texas, President Trump promised that he was with them “every single day after to restore, recover, and rebuild.”
Trump’s response to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria is a stark contrast. It’s time to stop thinking of each other as each other and start thinking of ourselves as what we truly are: We.