Tuesday on MSNBC, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) said President Donald Trump had told the people of Puerto Rico they were “not worth the money and the resources to help you.”
Discussing a new study that found Hurricane Maria caused an estimated 2,975 deaths, Gutiérrez said, “Here’s how you make sure it doesn’t happen again, you make sure you have a president of the United States that when there’s this kind of tragedy doesn’t say the reason things aren’t getting better is because the people of Puerto Rico want us to do everything for them. In other words, he called people lazy where thousands were either dead or dying. He then said, ‘Wow, you’re busting my budget.’ In other words, you’re not worth the money and the resources to help you.”
He added, “When you have a president of the United States that makes those kinds of comments while you know—and then gives himself an A. Remember, he said, ‘I deserve a ten. How many was it? Just 64,’ Just 64 deaths is one death too many, but having said that, just 64, it wasn’t just 64. He gave himself a ten. We have a president of the United States who when he sees a tragedy says it’s too much. In Omarosa’s book, it’s pretty clear, which I read, they were punishing the people of Puerto Rico because he wanted to punish the Carmen Yulín the mayor of San Juan because she stood up for the rights of the people of Puerto Rico. You know something. You go back to your clips. You will find she was absolutely right in calling the government out. Especially now that we know.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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