Those Puerto Rican United States citizens are "flooding" in great numbers to the mainland United States. Then those people of color will then be able to vote. trump will be very unhappy when that happens and he will be able to do nothing about it.
18
The man disgusts me. And I am being civil with that comment.
14
The folks in PR are not white. No further explanation needed.
30
The truth will set you free!!!
2
Business first...everything else next...
6
Trump encourages racists so that when he robs then, they will blame minorities. Classic divide and conquer.
19
God forgive me for the hate in my heart that I have for this president.
47
Trump should borrow an idea from his Puerto Rico playbook for all his disaster relief events… toss packets of Kleenex into the crowds. Another hurricane… here, cry on these. Another mass shooting… here, cry on these. Massive fires… here, cry on these before tossing them into the fire.
In fact, the Trump presidency has been one disaster after another. If Trump tossed packets of Kleenex to everyone who feels like crying, Kimberly-Clark stock would surpass Apple.
32
The subtext--the unsent tweet--is loud and clear: "Not a state, not Anglo, no votes, would be Democratic votes anyway, already bankrupt=not American." From the same troglodytic mindset that could say of Obama, "Not white, father not American, not born in the lower 48=not American." Not just no aid; an opportunity to cater further to the racism of the base.
19
Trump is abandoning everyone. He's actually killing people in Puerto Rico.
But, he's at it here, too. It's a sea of disparity. My health care, already massively expensive, is at least available. Due to "pre-existing conditions" I would have no health care if not for the passage of the AHCA. Now, before I'm old enough to get Medicare, I'm going to be written off the roles. I just received notice that my insurance is cancelled effective December 31 at 11:59 p.m. With Trump's new slash and burn approach, I will join millions of Americans who work and have for decades in the ranks of the uninsured, or grossly under insured.
And - I'm a middle aged white guy. Just the group he vowed to help out!
Can you imagine what is happening to these brothers and sisters of ours in Puerto Rico? They have nothing. Nothing.
This madman is forsaking 3.5 million people in mind, body and spirit. I'm going to shut down everything and go down there. I'm bringing a hammer, a drill, a saw and a small water filtration system. I'm going to find one house where we can scrounge enough wreckage from the detritus of this storm to house somebody. I'm going to work until I'm ready to drop dead.
With any luck, I will so I don't have to live in a world where this guy and his henchmen hold any sway over anybody.
My father fought his way through France to stop this from happening the last time.
I have had enough!
64
When I heard about Trump's tweet where he declared 'victory' in Puerto Rico and whined about not getting enough praise from the "Fake News Media" for throwing some paper towels at a crowd, I likened his attitude to "let them eat cake," only in this case it actually happened. So, the title of this article is fitting. I initially assumed Donald was too stupid to realize Puerto Rico is part of the U.S., but now I realize my miscalculation: he knows full well, he just doesn't care because, as the article points out, it's an area populated largely by minorities. His base doesn't live there, and the Puerto Ricans can't vote him out of office anyway. I guess when he says "America first!" he actually means "Me first, followed by my base... or at least to the extent that they'll vote for me, and then they can just join the rest of the untouchables caste that encompasses everyone who's not me." This man hasn't lost touch with the citizens of his own country, because he was never in touch with them in the first place, but he has lost touch with how to give the appearance of caring about them. Oh wait, he never did that either. Well, one thing's for certain: he won't win the vote of the American people in the next election. Oh wait, he never did. Why is he President, again?
23
Today’s Andrew Rosenthal’s interesting column tells how “Wall Street loan sharks show more heart than the president. “
What does Krugman have to say about this aspect?
Rosenthal writes “ Some of the companies that hold Puerto Rico’s $74 billion in debt and had been suing to force payment, no matter the consequences, started talking about cutting the island a break
Puerto Rico’s government and business bear a responsibility for the financial crisis there, but even more so do American bankers and Congress, which dragged its feet on the issue for far too long.
After all, said Dan Fuss, vice chairman of Loomis Sayles & Co.: “They are U.S. citizens. We are U.S. citizens. We have an obligation to help.”
And Trump has made no threat to withdraw aid from Texas — which, unlike Puerto Rico, he considers part of his constituency.
Or maybe he just believes, as so many other American politicians sadly do, that Puerto Ricans are inferior and that they are freeloaders.
Trump has a sorry history in this area that goes back to 1973, when the federal government sued the company he ran with his father for discriminating against Puerto Ricans, blacks and other minorities. Trump, who settled out of court, said they weren’t discriminating. They just didn’t want to rent to welfare recipients, which is dog whistle code for minorities.”
13
Bravo!! Thank you for saying it like it is.
9
Trump doesn't know the meaning of love. He sure knows how to hate, though. Today he listed a few that deserved his enmity: The "fake" media, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Iran. Add in Germany, the rest of the EU, England(sometimes) the East and West coasts of the USA and of course, Puerto Rico. Russia is just fine, though. They have pictures, video and lots of his money. I forgot. He LOVES money.
19
For me is becoming clear that Mr Trump dislikes latinos, black communities and muslims. Since he already knows that those groups won´t vote for him anyway, he sees no reasons for do something for them. Tossing towels to puerto ricans is merely a reflect of Mr Trump´s views of what he considered to be a groupd of "second class americans".
10
Good grief. I'm so over Krugman's, Friedman's and other NYT columnists endless hand-wringing over Trump. OF COURSE he's awful. OF COURSE he's doing vile, despicable things. For God's sake, you're smart people -- tell me something I don't know.
You offer no bold solutions, Dr. Krugman -- when bold solutions are what we need. Decade after decade of incrementalist neoliberal policies have brought us these trying times -- and that includes Trump's win.
Why not join the growing chorus of voices advocating canceling PR's inhumane debt? And while we're at it, let's overhaul their electric system -- make it solar-focused. Elon Musk is all in. Where are you?
You partly blame Puerto Rican "mismanagement" for their economic despair -- this tiny territory with state-like financial obligations to our country, yet NO electoral representation in Congress. Does that outrage you, too? Because it should.
You say "globalization" is partly to blame -- my gosh, could you possibly be more vague? If you read the groundbreaking work of muckraking journalists at The Intercept or Democracy Nowhere! or Matt Taibbi, you'd know that rapacious vulture capitalists have played a substantial role in the financial hari kari committed on PR and our hedge-funder-bought Congress helped paved the way.
Please stop being merely reactive to our orange-faced goon-of-a-President's destructive ways and start taking a meaningful stand for broad-thinking solutions that we can all get behind. :)
19
Yes I agree that Trump has a "special animus toward minorities " particularly one minority President Obama.
Trump has never gotten over Obama poking fun at him at that correspondents dinner.
I can see Trump thinking " How dare he make fun of me, a rich white man, I'll show him"
That's Trump presidency in a nutshell
25
Dr. Krugman lives in an insulated happy alternate universe, where wonderful dreams of people living in harmony really do exist.
Back here on planet earth, there are some practical, yet unpleasant realities to deal with......
1. Puerto Rico has a big problem with political corruption.
2. If the "leadership" in Puerto Rico had not staked out that island as their private domain, off limits to other American business interests.....the infrastructure of PR would probably NOT have taken the severe hit that it did.
To this day, Puerto Rican political interests are stonewalling the efforts of americans to gain inroads into an insular island culture.
3. The mayor of San Juan is the shining example of this double standard/ She wants US aid, but only if she is in charge of distributing it for political favors.
It is sad to watch how Houstonians seem to have pulled together to help each other out.....while the only reports we get from Puerto Rico are of nobody doing anything to help themselves.....no gas powered generators. no chainsaws. no boats. no ATVs.....nothing,,,,according to the press corps anyway. The anti-Trump propaganda requirement is too large to let the whole picture get out there.
Boriquenos, Jibaros are not just going to sit still and wait for "leadership" to help them out....they know better.
5
For Trump, Puertorriqueños are just poor Mexican immigrants with US passports. Trump’s Evangelical supporters have forgotten g
Jesus’ teaching “what you do for the least of my brothers, you do for Me!”
7
The Trump Admin is feeling more like the Kymer Rouge than any American administration I can remember. Is Trump using Pol Pot as his governing model?
8
Trump and his Republicans are committing murder by attrition of American citizens. Murder by gutting health insurance. Murder by gutting generations of environmental protections. Murder by willfully ignoring the humanitarian needs of Puerto Rico. Murder by stripping budgets, strangling morale and installing destructive leadership in countless Federal agencies. And God forbid, murder by playing stupid games with dangerous dictators. And. The. Republicans. Say. Nothing. Traitors, all.
22
Enough is enough. The mass of Americans who detest Trump must hit the streets and demand his resignation with relentless fury. Where are the protestors outside the White House? Writing comments to NYT columns is not going to get it done. If Americans had not gone to the streets and relentlessly and vociferously protested against the Vietnam War, we would have been stuck in that tragic quagmire for many more years. There is far too much at stake to wait even three years to be rid of Trump.
12
If Puerto Rico were chock full of rich, white Republican donors, you can bet that Trump would not begrudge its 3.5 million U.S. citizens the disaster aid that poured forth for, say Florida and Texas.
Trump's inability to see the big picture is perfectly summarized by this photo of him merrily tossing paper towels to a crowd. Paper towels -- To "help" people, most of whom have no homes; no water; no food; no electricity; no telecommunications; no roads. At this event, Trump assumed that because there were lights on in this building, the solar flashlights stockpiled were no longer needed. If things are okay where The Donald stands, then the world is "great, terrific, fantastic" apparently.
I am so disgusted, dismayed, embarrassed angry, etc. The adjectives seem so inadequate in proportion to the injustice and inhumanity of this man.
11
Mr. Krugman - you fail to mention the U.S government's historical treatment of Puerto Rico war as a "colony' and its complicity in the since the Spanish American War which has led to the present status.
9
A lot of people in this country do not consider Puerto Rican's 'real American's. Part of that is racism but a big part of it is plain ignorance. When I discuss the situation with compassionate and normally well informed people, they are honestly surprised to hear how bad the situation really is with lack of power, clean water and food, 3 weeks and counting. PR is too far away from here for them to take notice. I haven't counted how often I have heard: 'I didn't know that' , 'no, that can't be true' and then almost invariably 'we need to help them now' even from hard core Republican voters. Trump is not alone in ignoring PR but he is pretty much alone in consciously denying the truth about the situation down there.
5
You kid about this happening on the mainland, but out in California it's no joke. Many of us cross our fingers and pray that "the big one" doesn't happen while Mr. Trump is still in office. If Puerto Rico is any indication, anyone living in an ethnically diverse Democratic-leaning state has good reason to worry about what kind of help they'll get from the newly-politicized FEMA under Trump and Pence.
11
It's really rather easy to predict Trump's behavior and actions. Just follow the news subjects and Television Cameras. He'll show up in the front of it.
3
I offer another four-letter word as an explanation for Trump's behavior: hate. Unadulterated, irrational, and without bounds.
This man must be removed from office.
6
There is a plan in the madness. Once most of Puertoricans move to mainland TRUMP Co swoops in to buy prime beach front property for pennies on a dollar - it is an island with very big ocean around it after all. Then they use federal flood insurance to cover any future disasters. Just watch the money.
4
What you are witnessing with Puerto Rico is the sadistic side of Donald Trump. He has not been given sufficient accolades for "doing what no one else could have done in restoring Puerto Rico," so he is going to lash out at any criticism. What in the world does Puerto Rico's debt have to do with the storm recovery? The US is in debt by over one trillion dollars. Texas is in debt to the tune of $296 billion. But Trump thinks Puerto Rico's debt is different. If they were white and Trump supporters does anyone think they would be treated this way? I would bet my paycheck up until sometime after the storm Trump did not know they were American citizens.
8
Who said the came for the neighbors and I said nothing then they came for me. This is what we can expect in the future for Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Then environmental, education, civil rights, and freedom will be removed and we will be ruled by corporate America and the republican 1%.
Email me when this happens and I will say told you so.
2
I am so thoroughly disgusted by Trump that I will never again use "president" with his name. To me, every day with Trump starts like I am finding a cockroach in my morning cereal.
He is beyond reasoning with, beyond tolerating, life-threatening in some cases, yet how many hours a week of smart political analysis (and advice) is being wasted on him ... very smart people trying to talk him into doing his job correctly ... even a little bit humanely, or, dare we hope, a little bit presidentially?
I am seeing that we all are wasting time on this ridiculous person. I know our nation can't just move on. I'm sick to my stomach. This person must be kicked out of the White House. Or a lot of smart political analysts and advisors will be wasting more of their time on him for 3 more years.
9
Let’s be honest, we treat Puerto Rico like a colony, exploited, dependent without rights. It’s a disgrace that started before Dotard Trump was elected president. The only decent action would be to make it a state with full constitutional rights.
9
How much more has to happen before we consider the 25th Amendment? What other horrors will we allow as a people before we take seriously that Trump is NOT fit to run this country?
I have never been more ashamed to be an American...this is NOT who we are!
7
So this is the man that 40% of American voters thought was a good choice for our highest office? What on earth were they thinking? What a disaster and it's only going to get worse. You are complicit if you voted for him.
12
Where is the US military? According to other stories, it is making a maximum effort to avoid real reporting on their problems.
They can establish communications. They have ships capable of carrying helicopters able to carry food and water to anywhere on the island in minutes.
Unfortunately FEMA seems to be in command, and FEMA seems to believe that everyone who gets anything must fill out forms online--or by phone--in a nation with neither.
Anyone telling the truth is mocked, insulted and ignored by our President--and all of his toadies who are either too stupid, too corrupt, or too scared of his terrible tweets to dare offend him. Included among the toadies are the entire Republican Congressional crew -- who range from utter synchophants (hello, Nunes) to Corker who will, once in a while, let reality intrude.
The official death toll stands at 45 and has not been updated in days. VOX made a few phone calls, etc. and quickly confirmed over 400 bodies. The governor of Puerto Rico would rather have people die unrecorded than offend Trump.
Isn't it time to notice that Puerto Rico is a catastrophe, with the infrastructure of the entire island destroyed, and not, like a hurricanes in Texas and Florida, or the wildfires in California? It is way past time to avoid massive relief failure generated casualties, but not too late to reduce the overall death toll, and get the infrastructure rebuilt.
2
And it's not just Puerto Rico & Puerto Ricans who are suffering from the complete lack of empathy & miserly assistance; the Virgin Island & their citizens also suffered devastating losses & need help as well. I've seen no mention of the USVI in the news recently; NYTimes, please do something about this. They need to be remembered too.
6
@batpa, you wrote: "We are in the movie "Ground Hog Day"." Well, yeah, but sorta in reverse. In the movie Phil Conner starts out as a miserable creep, but as Groundhog Day goes on day after day, Phil begins to see how awful he is, and changes himself for the better. In real life Trump starts off his presidency as being medium awful, then gets worse with each passing day. Just as with Groundhog Day, this movie will come to an end also, but will the rest of be here for it?
4
The way the cycle of hurricane names settled on Puerto Rico this year is a heartbreaking accident. All that ruin, all that misery, all that death, which the President chooses to ignore, coming with the Spanish name of the greatest of Christian saints, the merciful mother, who the Catholic Church teaches was a sinless woman (that's what the Immaculate Conception means). And the Puerto Rican Juliet in "West Side Story." How things have come together.
On September 11th, 1992 the Hawaiian island of Kauai was literally flattened by Hurricane Iniki, whose winds broke the anemometer when they exceeded 200 mph. Unlike PR, Kauai is not a territory, but a county within a state, and its inhabitants pay federal taxes, vote in federal elections, and speak English. 1992 was also a presidential election year, and Bush senior was not looking for any additional controversy following the earlier LA riots and the devastation wrought by Hurricane Andrew in South Florida. However, like PR, Kauai features inadequate roads, a small airport, and modest anchorage. Given these circumstances, more remote areas of the island waited nearly three weeks for any assistance, and even then received little more than the delivery of bottled water via helicopter. Electricity was not fully restored for months, the tourism industry that provided most jobs did not recover for years, gasoline for generators was expensive and difficult to obtain, and many residents subsisted on reef fish and rice for months. In the interim, Mr. Bush was replaced by Mr. Clinton, the liberals all celebrated after twelve years of Republican ascendancy, and Kauai languished without any handwringing by the media about an uncaring administration, half-hearted relief efforts, or underlying racial bias against Polynesians, and liberal pundits like Professor Krugman were silent about the deprivation being endured by their fellow countrymen. Just sayin'.
5
Trump's response is probably being underwritten by Stephen Miller.
3
Paul Krugman sees clearly and speaks sad truths. We don't have a presidency but a Dynasty/TV "star"/failed business person who unlike other US presidents has invited not the best and the brightest but the corrupt and inept to join his cabinet and administration. Their goals are to decimate and destroy every program and piece of legislation enacted to protect citizens' health, environment, well-being, as well as economic health and parity, civil, civic, and educational rights. Every day of this infernal and immature presidency another horror reveals itself when more legislative protections are threatened - transgenders in military suddenly receive zero tolerance while MORE tolerance is proposed for alleged campus rapists?? Huge tax cuts are promoted for wealthy people like the TRUMPS while the health care for millions is pulled out from under the most vulnerable members of our society? First amendment rights are in peril and directly threatened by raging, petulant baby-boy prez because he disapproves of NBC reporting? Anything the creature dislikes is labeled fake news; his lies abound. The danger is that the pressure of such wanton disregard of the Constitution and the rights of citizens may create pressures that lead to social and political ferment. And this little babe can't abide the bending of the knee in respectful dissent but must threaten NFL tax status. Sad!
3
I've lived during thirteen administrations and find myself woefully unprepared for an administration this corrupt, this cynical, this grasping, petty, greedy, destructive, reckless, arrogant, unrepresentative, elitist... this.... deplorable.
There are times when it seems a decade since this illegitimate election, its illegitimate approval by an illegitimate College of Electors, and its illegitimate stamp of approval by this Republican Congress.
Fraud is being proven slowly but surely. And when it is proven?
SOMEONE must step up and demand SCOTUS #nullify this illegitimate election, and that we all #REVOTE.
The alternative is too much to bear.
35
No matter who all the commenters support; I hope they all voted. We who voted know there is no perfect candidate.
Unfortunately, more people stayed home than those who voted for either imperfect candidate.
1
What should be happening is that the administration should be forcing all the employees and former employees who have taken private flights for work (Price, Pruitt, Mnuchin) to personally pay back the money that was wasted. Then, we should use that money to financially assist victims of disasters in Puerto Rico and elsewhere. I am sure those numbers would be in the millions. It wouldn’t cover the full amount, but I would be a start. The big issue here is that Trump has and will always only care about one person: Trump.
11
It appears that Puerto Ricans have now joined the ranks of certified victims of Trumpian malevolence and thus bear absolutely no responsibility for the disaster that has befallen them. No one could have prevented two hurricanes from devastating the island, but over the past few decades the political class of Puerto Rico has failed to maintain and upgrade the country's infrastructure. This neglect played a major role in the damage that was sustained. When aid arrived, it remained piled up on the docks because the roads were gone and there were no truck drivers who could get this aid out to the people. Were disaster preparations undertaken before the hurricanes? No one has seen fit to ask this question. There are 13,000 FEMA and military personnel on the ground, and their task is enormously difficult. Progress is being made. One gets the impression that if Trump had put one million aid workers into Puerto Rico, the Times and its Johnny One Note op-ed writers would be screaming that it's
not enough.
1
Your first sentence is correct in that no one bears responsibility whatsoever for a natural disaster.
(Unless we are as a species doing things that perpetuate the natural disasters in which case, of course, we are all responsible.)
3
It may too simplistic to say that there has been a facist takeover of the our federal government and that we have an out of control racist dictator, who ignores the law and is kept in power by what is in effect the American Facist Party a/k/a the Republican Party. So I will not say that and wait for the editorial board to do so in the coming months.
The ACA is the law and our unhinged president believes that he can destroy health care for millions by executive fiat. He alone determines who is treated like a citizen. People are dying and many more will die, because the Trumpist congressional majority will continue as usual to put party and politics of the welfare and security of the nation.
Trump could be removed from office for violation of the emoluments clause but the siren call of tax cuts for the rich and deregulating business to just too much for the GOP.
The situation of Puerto Rico is hopeless. Puerto Rican Americans should be moving to Florida and turn it blue and to Alabama and Arazona and Wyoming and start voting for Democrats. Businesses should move with them.
As to the systematic destruction of the rule of law and our core values the question is whether the GOP is waiting for nationwide riots, general strikes and a full fledged uprising. What would happen if blacks and Hispanics should be buying AR-15s with large clips and bumpstocks? Will the GOP get the message about guns? Or – Impeach Trump and Pense and the voters will be out for revenge. l
15
I. Am. Truly. Disgusted. And. Afraid.
19
Mr Krugman makes it all to simple, comparing helping Texas, Louisiana and Florida to helping Puerto Rico. There is no comparison. Our states already have extensive resources in place such as emergency personnel, local and state police, as well as the National Guard and others. If we want to get supplies in quickly, we drive loaded trucks into the state. Medical help is there to help. Puerto Rico is more similar to Haiti. Our military quickly took over the airport to manage supplies when they flew in and protect those supplies. But getting them out to communities was almost impossible. Our group was medical and had been going to the area we worked for years. Supplies were already in place when we got there. But many Haitian doctors had decided to take their paid vacation right after the earthquake. There were many countries who came to help. In our area the Cuban doctors were there and planned to stay for at least two years, Doctors Without Borders were there and brought in structural engineers to evaluate the damage and promised repair or rebuild the hospital where half had collapsed into rubble. Church groups were there to see if they could help by providing us and others with supplies. With all that help, even weeks later logistics was a confusing disaster. Displace people lived in large fields and shelters they made from leaves and branches. Mr Krugman shows little understanding of the problems in Puerto Rico and seems more interested in making political points.
5
Krugman's memory is short and selective. In the 1970's, Gerald Ford told New York to take a hike when their fiscal woes threatened bankruptcy. But this is in keeping with the tactics of Krugman and his fellow lefties - identity politics is their mantra.
5
New York's budget crisis is nothing like PR's humanitarian crisis.
1
Well, I think you too, have a faulty memory. Or can you give us the name of the category 4 hurricane that hit NYC back then?
Didn't think so.
3
You do know that Gerald Ford was a republican, right?
3
Here are the reasons that Mr. Trump has turned his back on Puerto Rico: the American citizens there have more than once voted against Statehood: therefore his twisted sense of patriotism and his 'America First' Twitter babble has pushed the island to the bottom of his priority list, which is mainly to undo whatever President Obama achieved: inasmuch as this is a man of 'very little brain' (Winnie the Pooh quote), the island's Spanish name has led him to think 'Latino' - hence foreigners. So-o-o, my fellow Americans, we must not be shocked, we must only look with a cold eye at the monster in the White House.
11
Just what we were waiting for: an eleventh province of Canada. [And Elon Musk helping out']
4
Donald Trump is a hollow and insecure pathological liar, emotionally and mentally unstable, a con man whose habits all his life have been to bully, threaten, and scam everyone within reach. Puerto Rico is no different from Trump University: The suffering of others is only a way for Trump to profit, this time from an up-beat publicity message while more victims die of polluted water and lack of medical attention. So also, once he has successfully sabotaged the ACA, Trump will gloat about succeeding where Congress failed, because he will look like a winner to his hard-core Obama-hating base as more Americans die and suffer because they cannot get medical care. Even though all verification confirms Iran's compliance, Trump will decertify Iran against his own government's and cabinet's recommendations - so he can polish his image as a tough president who stood up to a "terrorist" Islamic nation. Meanwhile, of course, his administration is not acting on the express Congressional mandate to apply extended sanctions on Russia - this is consistent with not biting the hand that put him in the White House. America now has as its president someone who is doing it far more harm than its enemies in the past.
18
All the while the House and Senate watch our once wonderful country swirl the bowl. Such patriotic Americans.
12
Puerto Rico is full of THOSE people. They didn't vote for the Orange One (oops that's not correct, PR is no a state, therefore they don't count.)
Trump isn't really an equal opportunity monster. In his ideal world, we would rob more from the poor to give to the rich.
11
I believe Krugman suffers from selective outrage syndrome
7
Things might be different for our fellow citizens and the beleaguered island of Puerto Rico if our miserable, paper towel throwing, intellectually impotent, heartless, sad excuse for a president had a hotel or golf course there.
24
I was sickened. You see, I do not like tossing treats to my dog.
It made me ashamed to be an American
13
Skin that is white makes Trump's smile bright. Skin that is brown turns Trump's bright smile to a frown.
10
I have a question to ask of our concerned citizens in politics, in the media, the academia, the business and elsewhere. When an incompetent man openly goes about undermining our healthily working governing architecture, ignores the most basic needs of millions of our citizens, indeed goes out of the way to insult them, how come we keep beating about the bush in taking him to task? How come we don't come right out to demand his ouster from office? He has had nine months to demonstrate his grasp and understanding of the nation's needs, his sense of agenda and priorities, and his competence and skills to manage country's affairs, at least half way decently. A singular failure on all these counts, I ask what's he still doing in the Oval Office?
29
I get it - Trump is a buffoon, not well-spoken, and has a penchant for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Having said that, the logistics involved for FEMA and other agencies are enormous and daunting, and especially difficult given that yes, it is an island, and the population of Puerto Rico is equal to that of LA or Chicago. Imagine having to feed, house and provide medical care for one of those cities, and add the difficult terrain of PR? it would be a nightmare. PR was in the doldrums before this hurricane-their infrastructure was in shambles as is their leadership. Lets not forget that it was under Obama that PROMESA was established to oversee their finances and get the bondholders paid above everything else (of course they were going to take care of Wall St, Hillary's top benefactor). A compassionate and intelligent government would have forgiven the debt because it was US policies (repeal of Sec 936 for instance) that led to their plight and established a Marshall Plan type solution to address the economy and infrastructure. This problem did not begin with Trump - the collapse of PR was decades in the making and the US Government never stepped up with real solutions and condemned the people there to 2nd class citizenship. If you ask the average PR, they want to remain part of the US, even under the colonial status, because the alternative without US aid is to be a third world country like Haiti. Lets be fair and honest with the reporting.
4
"But Hillary... but Obama..." Obama isn't president and Hillary never was. Trump is president NOW and he's willfully abandoning Americans. Many to their deaths.
3
I really don't see how the past financial difficulties and all the tangled mess of your post has anything to do with the destruction caused by an extremely powerful hurricane, and resulting non-relief policy of our President. When I saw the idiotic footage of our paper towel throwing Leader, I was physically ill. I had the idea that that would be all the help they would get! You obviously have never been to Louisiana or Mississippi. There are plenty of large cities that FEMA took care of. Not to mention that a good portion of these states are Swamps filled with Alligators, and Poisonous Snakes. Getting help to the people in these areas were just as difficult as getting help to those in Puerto Rico. Yes, the people of Puerto Rico were already living in poor housing and their power and water systems were out of date and in need of replacement. But the gist of it is that they were working and the buildings were standing before the Hurricane hit. The next fact is that no matter how antiquated they were, the force of the Hurricane would have still done a great amount of damage. The problem is that our President is like any other spoiled brat...he will play ball with you, no matter what your station in life is, but if you say or do something he doesn't like, he will take his ball...or paper towels...and go home! The way he was tossing those paper towels, if our Congress does their job and removes him from office, he might get a job with the Giants!
1
Like the US Embassy incident in Cuba...but the disorienting, sickening sounds are coming out of the White House. They are making tens of millions of Americans sick. Spreading dysfunction, lack of safety nets, health care and infrastructure they will sicken and kill many Americans --not just Puerto Ricans but mainland citizens.
Trump held Cuba responsible for the sickening noises affecting Embassy staff and threw out about 20 Cuban diplomats while bringing home US diplomats. Trump holds Puerto Rica responsible for Hurricane Maria damage and the rest of us for not getting on board with his inane legislative agenda. But those of us who hold Trump responsible for the outrageous Puerto Rica ER fiasco and everything else he does --where will Trump exile the growing majority of Americans convinced of his Presidential unfitness? Second class citizenship? The lower middle and lower middle class demographic without adequate pensions, healthcare or decent paying jobs? The sounds coming out of the White House are sickening. And the Trump Hurricane has done far more damage than the three that ravaged PR, other island territories and southern coastal states. We need to shore up Puerto Rican hurricane response and with it the defense of American rights and values. These are the same battles.
First Trump came for Puerto Ricans and we did nothing. Then...'others' votes, healthcare, taxes and we did nothing ...And when he came for us none were left to defend us...
3
It's easy to see what Trump thinks of Puerto Rico - "nice beachfront property - too many Puerto Ricans." But he's doing all he can to remedy that. If we don't care enough about the place to keep it up, we should give it back to Spain. At this point, I'm sure many Puerto Ricans would rather be part of the EU than the US.
7
I have a plan for Puerto Ricans. Send to the US mainland your young, but over 18, educated able bodied people. Not all of them, just about 1Million will do. There are these 4 states, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania that have good jobs where you can get work and send money back home to help rebuild. Once you get there, be sure to register to vote as soon as you can. Then make sure you vote at every single election local and national. And be sure to remember that while people were suffering in Puerto Rico, Trump was out playing golf and dedicating trophies to you.
Given that Trump is President by less than 108K votes, I wonder what 1Million new voters from Puerto Rico would do? Mr. Tillerson any comments?
20
Don't forget Ohio - I'd like to see that state turn blue.
5
Excellent article. The only thing wrong with this whole piece is that it has to be written by a Professor of Economics. One would think a leader from the religious right would be writing this. And it's sad they aren't.
10
And don't forget: Puerto Rico has 0 electoral votes.
3
Perhaps a crash course in empathy is in order. Drop Mr. T-rump in a hot, humid, decimated place for only a few days without electricity, a/c, hair dryer, running water, food, drinking water, tv, cell service or internet (heaven forbid no tweets!) and see if it teaches him anything.
8
NYT - June 11, 2017 - "23% of Puerto Ricans Vote in Referendum, 97% of Them for Statehood"
"On an island where voter participation often hovers around 80 percent, just 23 percent of registered voters cast ballots. Voting stations accustomed to long lines were virtually empty on Sunday."
97% of those 23% who voted voted for statehood what do the other roughly 57% want?
The Dems need to double down on racism, xenophobia, and towel throwing to desperate constituents if they expect to have any chance in 2018
12
Get used to living in a M A G A world. Who said 'elections have consequences'? The dismantling of rules, the gutting of federal agencies, the purge of scientists and experienced public servants, the flame-thrower foreign policy and a pool of mediocre to unqualified true believers who put loyalty over country and a despicable serial sexual predator as POTUS. What a slide into the swamp. From laughing stock in the international community we are well on the way to becoming an isolated pariah.
BUT the stock market is at all time highs. Yessir, it's a M A G A world.
9
Every time Pres. Trump opens his mouth to say anything, I hear the sounds of white nationalists marching in Charlottesville , the stink of their Nazified torches, & the echoes of their disgusting chants. I sincerely hope that Puerto Rico becomes a state if only to annoy Trump & his allies as millions of the island's voters look toward the next presidential election. The people of Puerto Rico have done NOTHING to deserve that man's disdain & disregard except to be poor - in his words ... losers. That man's grandfather arrived here penniless but as a white immigrant in a white-dominated country, he had all the odds on his side despite his criminal activities (running a brothel, etc.) His father indulged in racist activities which trickled on down to the son - now our most vile president. That's the only "trickle-down theory" I see at work in this country.
If war ever comes to this country because of Trump's disastrous foreign policies, I hope the people of Puerto Rico stay away from the recruiting stations and let every "deplorable" who voted for him send their sons & daughters to enlist, to fight and to die for what THEY believed in and voted for. I wouldn't want one single child in my extended family to put on an American uniform to die for the Trump Family and their profits.
12
I bet, if you picture Steve Mnuchin standing in the Oval Office with steepled fingers, scheming like Mr. Burns on The Simpsons, you might get insight into the underlying motive of Trump’s bizarre cruelty toward Puerto Ricans struggling to find clean drinking water Hurricane Maria.
Wall Street may be facing a loss of over $70 billion in bonds that the government of Puerto Rico can’t pay back. Trump’s first press conference concerning the Federal relief effort showed callous indifference, underscored by his reminder that the island was in deep debt.
The politics in Puerto Rico are not the same as in the mainland US. The issue of colonialism divides the two main parties: the PNP advocates for statehood while the PDP advocates for remaining a US territory and not having to pay federal income taxes. Preserving the “patrimony of the country” is a rallying cry in elections there. The stoic Governor represents the PNP- usually associated with the Republicans in Congress. The Mayor of San Juan represents the PDP, usually aligned with the Democrats. And she is emphatic in her demands that the federal government live up to its obligations to this territory of the US.
Trump’s indifference to the plight of the people of Puerto Rico is payback for threatening to default on its debt to his pals on Wall Street. While cruelty and hatred of Hispanics is Trump’s personal calling card, under this veneer of racism and white nationalism lays the bedrock of his motivation: money.
7
The complexion of Puerto Rico is a bit more complicated than you’re aware: observation of its leadership class would be enlightening.
4
Not complicated at all. Once its indigenous people were conquered, the Spanish conquerors and their African slaves provided the mixed complexion of the country. Much like New Mexico and other Southwestern states, without the African slaves. You can see different complexions within one family.
1
Krugman: "I wouldn’t go so far as to call him an equal-opportunity monster ..."
The word "monster" conjures up a mental picture of an imaginary creature capable of inflicting evil. However, the suffering being experienced by the folks in Puerto Rico and those soon be without health care coverage under the ACA is not flowing from the action of an imaginary monster. But perhaps the suffering of these afflicted American citizens will be assuaged by Trump's promise, one recently made in an address at the "Value Voters" conference, that the "Merry Christmas" greeting during yuletide will be making a comeback while he is in office.
2
Making America say Merry Christmas again! You are right sir! The Grinch is banished by executive order. Christian Christmas is once again patriotic. Say Merry Christmas and salute the flag and America is great again. Who gives a rip about anything of consequence such as healthcare, clean air, peace between nations, racial equality and other petty grievances.
1
Americans must realize that Trump is a racist MORON!!!!!!!
9
I see this as a bigger problem than trump. The fact that it was possible for him to become president means that it could happen again, and it probably will. A solution would be to do formally what he is already doing, and reduce the office of president to that of a decorative - I use the term loosely - figurehead with no executive power, while the more or less legitimately elected congress takes charge. Like the United Kingdom's queen, trump could then repose in his luxurious palaces and be brought out in a gilded carriage for state occasions, with the minimum opportunity to further harm his people.
3
You've never read our constitution apparently.
5
Keep an eye on the Treasury Secretary. Since Puerto Rico's public debt is at least $73B, I expect Menuchin is working on how he can offer various investment groups deals on buying the debt for pennies on the dollar. It hasn't happened yet because Menuchin is probably still working on how he will collect his commission without getting caught.
Puerto Rico's real estate is at its lowest market value ever; such a deal for the investment groups; they get to buy residential & commercial real estate for pennies on the dollar, knock it down, build fabulous casino hotels (and low income housing for casino workers) and turn Puerto Rico into the Macau of the west.
4
The General Obligation bonds have already been bought for pennies by Wall Street, which is pressuring officials for a 100% return, even if that means stealing the dedicated revenue stream for my PR bonds, which are almost at maturity. I hope I get my principal back, given that I can't afford a lobbyist.
1
His friends like Tom Barrack are always looking to by distressed properties. I am sure all the opportunistic buzzards can come together and find a way to capitalize on the wreckage in the wake of these hurricanes.
Neither liberals nor conservatives face up to the truth. Puerto Rico is being treated in such a cavalier manner because of one irrefutable fact: Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States Empire. No colonizer respects its colonized subjects. That is the crux of the matter. Of course, neither liberals nor conservatives want to admit their country is the latest in a long line of imperial powers. They prefer to believe the false narrative that the United States is the great champion of freedom and democracy throughout the world. However, as history has shown us, no empire lasts forever. This too will pass. The crisis in Puerto Rico demonstrates that the present colonial relationship is untenable. It is time for Puerto Rico to join the concert of sovereign nations.
2
Statehood would be better. When left of center people abandon trying to make the US a better place, Trump wins. As we saw in 2016.
4
Mr. Krugman - Trump isn't going to help anyone who isn't kissing his keester. As a resident of Northern California I suspect Trump will do even less to help us with the hell our out-of-control fires than he did for the people of Puerto Rico and that's saying something big. He has not mentioned that hundreds of American lives have been forfeit to the flames. He does not care. He does not behave like our president. He acts against most of our interests and now he consciously turns his back on citizens in need. In other words, the head of the Republican Party has declared war on the people of this great nation. And, congress ditheres . . . are they the party of Lincoln or the part of Putin?
21
"And everyone who enables the regime perpetuating this shame shares part of the guilt."
You are absolutely right, Mr. Krugman. Where are the voices from the Christians especially the evangelicals? McConnell, Ryan and friends? But then again, these are the same folks who don't want you to have access to contraceptives, abortion in the case of incest and rape and NO to helping the parent, the child, person with disabilities and the elderly with heath care+. It is depressing, but we must keep fighting for justice.
18
They believe they are enforcers of God's will. They say it is for the benefit of our own afterlives.
3
From 1955 to 1957, I moved from Malibu to New York City, where I attended the Collegiate School for Boys and lived on Central Park West. I was in 7th and 8th grades. You can do the math and figure out I'm about the same age, gender and ethnicity as DJ Trump.
What was my attitude towards the Puerto Ricans who lived in New York? Mostly, I was afraid of them. I thought if you ran into them in Central Park, they might take your lunch money. At night, it could be worse.
My attitude towards them was pretty much the same as my attitude towards African-Americans. You avoided them, because they were dangerous. I never met anybody during that time who expressed another attitude, except, of course, our black maid.
Almost 60 years have passed since then, and I would like to believe that I have outgrown those stupid, racist attitudes. The attitude towards Puerto Ricans in NYC was a very New York thing, in its specific formulation. Hey, it's the West Side Story backstory.
So Trump and I, although we never met, were growing up in a roughly similar culture during that time. I expect his attitude towards Puerto Ricans then was much like mine.
Trump denies he's a racist. Certainly, however, he was a racist growing up. In the culture he was in, that I was in, it was inevitable. Has he transcended that? Well, now that we see how he's treating Puerto Rico, we have our answer. Like the song says, he's a Jet all the way, to his last dying day.
24
Time to use 25 on 45.
20
It makes a great T-shirt slogan: "25 #45."
1
I would like to listen to the thoughts and feelings of trumps voters , in particular women and Catholics .
How are they confronting everyday life with this Damocles sword inflicted by them on all of us ?
10
How is this not the same as the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar?
Our fellow American citizens WILL die of cholera, amoebiasis, and other causes of diarrhea and dehydration.
But we just move on! Do people know that MORE of our elderly citizens have died from that nursing home in Hollywood, FL? It’s up to 13 or 14 dead!
Or are we all just looking forward to the new Star Wars LITERALLY while California burns!
8
Hosea (8:7) said it well: "For they shall sew the wind and reap the whirlwind". And the prophet wasn't referring to the weather.
4
We’re painfully aware Trump is a gross Sick Joke as president. We watch as our democracy is failing--in disaster relief, health care, jobs, economic security, drug addiction, etc.
Krugman must write columns on why did our country vote Trump and the right wing into power? Even if Hillary got more votes, our system put him in and this system has to be changed.
But what’s the way out, PK? The right wing regressive radicals now dominate our congress, S. Court , and exec and cabinet and many states. They are threatening our health care, press freedom, voting rights, civil rights, energy reform, and our living standards.
A big reason the US can’t cope with serious problems or live up to its professed principles because we have a winner take all election system with increased polarization, and with candidates dependent on big money special interests to run for office. We hand over our elections to high profit corporations ---Wall St, big insurance, big oil, etc,-----to subsidize.
As the economic well being of average citizens worsens, xenophobia and racism can be easily enflamed and exploited. Enter Trump--- the expert in this.
Meanwhile more power and wealth goes to the $$ elites, who really direct our govt, with little influence by "we the people". Trump is a symptom of a political disease.
NYT columnists must start offering ways to change with positive role models that work, as examples to follow, not just continual Trump bashing, satisfying as it may be.
8
The irony is that $10B will be spent on a wall to keep Mexicans out. The money could be spent on Puerto Rico’s recovery, instead. The folks there are citizens, willing and able to migrate to the mainland, take jobs (from fearful whites?), and swing a State blue.
But you can’t complain about US citizens exercising their rights to migrate (because they aren’t white) without looking prejudiced. You can complain about “illegals” without speaking obviously as such.
I suspect Trump’s change in rhetoric today has more to do with the potential in changing the voting map if enough folks migrated, than in realizing he was just being an old, white bigot. It never is about the people, only the money, power, and him.
5
My guess is that the ever-benevolent Trump will give blue state California about as much TLC as he gives Puerto Rico. And to those who suggest that Puerto Ricans should leave their homes for mainland red states, perhaps northern Californians should all head for Texas?
6
With Donald Trump in the White House you don't want to be under any disability of have any weaknesses, no pre-existing conditions, you don't want to be a woman or a racial minority, you don't want to have any vulnerabilities, you don't want to depend on the federal government for anything. Puerto Ricans are second class citizens to Trump, putting them down plays to his base. America had pretty much abandoned Puerto Rico in its debt crisis before the hurricanes hit, so why should anything change as a result of the hurricanes? Their misfortune is just another opportunity for Trump to demonstrate what his theory of "America first" really means. Clearly to buy in to this you must believe that Trump will "screw the other guy and pass the savings on to you". His base has bought in, but trusting Trump rarely ends well.
6
It is more than sad to say that "utterly shameful" has no meaning to Trump. Launching rolls of paper towels is pointless and stupid, and that can be said for nearly everything he does. How much more reason can Congress need to thrown him out of office?
It can be fairly labeled "death by Republicans."
4
"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing."
MacBeth: William Shakespeare
I enjoy my NYT, I enjoy MSNBC but all this "unprecedented" talk has me wondering if anybody in the media studied world history or literature. The esteemed Oxford professor of logic and writer Charles Dodgson introduced us to Trumpworld 150 years ago and introduced Donald Trump in the person of Humpty Dumpty. The argument of Alice with Humpty is recalled daily as the media takes its meaning of words to Trump's Administration and receives the same answer Humpty gives Alice. Humpty told Alice he is in control of the words and the words mean what he wants them to mean.
The state of the art hospital ship with eight patients anchored in San Juan should remind us all of the ships anchored off Ireland during the starvation forbidden to unload their cargo of food lest the food upsets the Irish food export economy and the wishes of Ireland's absentee landlords.
What is happening in Puerto Rico is situation normal for our reasoned economies of the past millenia.
Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector because of his success at killing Catholics in Scotland and Ireland. Believing Trumps failure to provide the necessities of life to Puerto Ricans would decrease his popularity in his GOP base is a failure to understand history. Why isn't Mark Twain ever mentioned?
If Swift wrote his Modest Proposal in 2017 instead of 1727 he might have titled it Let Them Eat Paper Towels.
8
It is not only fake news but completely irresponsible for Paul Krugman to insinuate or explicitly state that racism has anything to do with however Puerto Ricans have been treated. You have no evidence that racism influences any of the decisions re Puerto Rico post hurricane.
You don't have any evidence that somehow PR is not being treated as well as possible. Have you been there? Have you thought it through?
3
If you look closely, this article was clearly labeled "OPINION". Most of us (outside of Fox new fans) know the difference between opinion and facts. This is not news, fake or otherwise, but opinion.
1
What we created abroad is now at home in the figure of #45? Blowback?
Every time I think my heart could not be more broken by this mentally ill and morally defective man that we (not really) elected as our president, he manages to split it wider. Please, NYT, on the front page: he must be removed from the White House.
8
At its root, one more giant piece of heartless racist response from our pathological would-be king. What does he care about Puerto Rico's plight-- they are dark-skinned people who cannot vote for him.... The paper-towel tossing was a savage bit of condescending, meaningless, empty showboating.
6
Puerto Rico is run by corrupt third world like politicians and warlord like business moguls so its nothing like "Iowa". The thieving rich and to a great extent the common people in Puerto Rico that submit to them are to blame and should be ashamed that as a society in a seasonal hurricane zone that their infrastructure and housing completely collapse when a hurricane arrives. No one would be alluding to racism and callousness on the part of the president if in a snow storm most of the roofs in very white Minnesota, Wyoming, Alaska .... fell in. The solution is to throw this failed "state" of whiners out of from under the many billion dollars per year subsidy baby blanket, that allows them to act like ignorant dependent children. Make them part of Mexico a society that has a equal sense of no responsibility, and the propensity to steal and learned helplessness.
3
"And everyone who enables the regime perpetuating this shame shares part of the guilt."
And that includes preening Sen. Bob Corker, who is high on rhetoric and low on action, even though he could be a powerful voice in the Senate.
And did'jall see Rand "Maverick" Paul standing tall in support of The Donald as he signed the first of his Executive Order Death Warrants for the individual insurance market in the US?
What a profile in courage that Rand is.
His Dad would be proud of him.
And that's the problem.
7
This is what happens when we get a "president", who lost the popular vote, who staged his coup with the help of a hostile foreign power. I truly hope the 2018 election, which we must watch extremely carefully for interference, will be the beginning of the end of this nightmare, not only for Puerto Rico, but for the whole nation and world.
8
"rather than an urgent problem to be solved." This captures a core difference between the two major parties, that in the D view, gov't is essentially the instrument we have in a democracy to solve problems we cannot solve individually or in markets. In the different R view, the gov't's essential role is to referee competition between individuals, especially in modern markets to maintain contracts and sound money. In this latter view, there is no "we" until the nation is confronted by the aggression of another nation. Even such devestating natural disasters as we've witnessed and suffered this year are opportunities for individuals to demonstrate their generosity, heroism, compassion, if they choose to, and for insurance companies to pay up if they can't get out of it. But the basic idea that the state can use its police powers to redistribute resources from those that have to those that need under any circumstances, is anathema to this view. Tossing people a few roles of paper towels is better than nothing, an act of generous compassion not to be mocked.
2
Abondon all hope for ye who remain there. Citizens yes, but a state no. Is there a difference between these two terms for those in washington? When Puerto Rico sought it independence a long time ago the powers that be stated no to those seeking that independence. Perhaps it should have been granted.
1
terry the pirate, independence should have been attained by Puerto Rico long ago. The geopolitical interests of the United States Empire were of greater concern to the powers that be than the natural right of the Puerto Rican people to control their own country. However, it is not too late. Independence is not around the proverbial corner but it will be attained at some point during this century.
Mr Krugman makes it all to simple, comparing helping Texas, Louisiana and Florida to helping Puerto Rico. There is no comparison. Our states already have extensive resources in place such as emergency personnel, local and state police, as well as the National Guard and others. If we want to get supplies in quickly, we drive loaded trucks into the state. Medical help is there to help. Puerto Rico is more similar to Haiti. Our military quickly took over the airport to manage supplies when they flew in and protect those supplies. But getting them out to communities was almost impossible. Our group was medical and had been going to the area we worked for years. Supplies were already in place when we got there. But many Haitian doctors had decided to take their paid vacation right after the earthquake. There were many countries who came to help. In our area the Cuban doctors were there and planned to stay for at least two years, Doctors Without Borders were there and brought in structural engineers to evaluate the damage and promised repair or rebuild the hospital where half had collapsed into rubble. Church groups were there to see if they could help by providing us and others with supplies. With all that help, even weeks later logistics was a confusing disaster. Displace people lived in large fields and shelters they made from leaves and branches. Mr Krugman shows little understanding of the problems in Puerto Rico and seems more interested in making political points.
3
Interesting distinctions but I am left unconvinced by your arguments. It's not like Trump is making all the right noises, committing to do our best but falling short. From the very start of the crisis he's been tweeting criticism at Puerto Rico and being noncommittal about seeing it through. If he had focused on explaining the logistical challenges you laid out, making some excuses and what not, but committing to do our best, your defense would actually be a defense.
Puerto Rican post hurricane poverty may also affect the mainland United States, especially southern states. It is time to wake up to the possibilities. It is the best interest of all Americans to support rapid redevelopment and modernization, because these islands may also grow new diseases which can easily spread. The balance of nature has been destroyed, but insects (especially mosquitos) will continue to flourish in the waste waters that remain. Will there be an increase in mosquito borne disease? How easy will it be for insects to travel back and forth to the mainland? How will paper towels protect us from harm?
3
Maybe the destitute, desperate Puerto Ricans will all flee to Florida and vote Democratic...maybe there actually is justice in life.
16
So far Trump all out assault on Latinos and Blacks is continuing. I am very sorry , but people must decide their own future.
There is nothing left to save face of this administration in the yes of Latinos and Blacks.
2
SU. What is your point?
1
Elections have consequences. The country is being run by the people who embrace the mind set of Old South slavery and Jim Crow. White men, no matter how intellectually or economically impotent they are, should have complete say over all others.
If the rest of the people in this country doesn't want the policies of the 30% of bigoted, angry white men to continue, they will have to get out and vote in every election at every level of government.
These people were born and raised bigoted. Nothing, massive death by illness in Puerto Rice, shooting black men in the back by police, shooting of other citizens by gun nuts, or the deaths of thousands due to lack of healthcare will turn them away from their hatred and bigotry. They revel in the death and misery of others.
17
This is the culmination of Americans being indifferent to the politics of this country. One cannot just vote for a president and think that is all one needs to do as an American. All those elections - supervisors, treasurers, school superintendents, senators, representatives, from local to state to federal, all mean something. The line separating a democracy from other forms of governancce has been crossed. We have an intemperate, incoherent, inept person as president. He requires constant stroking. He needs to assure himself that people know his power. This is not a person. This is not a human. Jenny speaks
6
The man is consumed by hate. He hates everything and everyone that doesn't automatically enhance his ego. And that includes the country itself. He hates Obama, and the whole government by association. He hates the people who voted for Obama. He hates the people who didn't vote for him - he even hates the people who did; for in his mind, they are fools. He hates people taller than him, better looking than him. He hates men who have better looking wives, happier relationships. He hates women in general, except for those he can use. But in reality, he hates them too. He hates war heroes because America adores them. He hates this job because he's never before really had one. He's a man who hates absolutely everything in life. He can't even play golf without cheating. His greatest fear, of losing, is what drives his hatred of everything. He even hates himself. Who wouldn't?
19
Statehood or independence for Puerto Rico NOW!
2
However inadequate the federal response may be, independence probably doesn't look so wonderful right now.
3
Susan Wood, independence. American imperialism is a scourge on humanity.
1
Statehood, fine, but independence would be a bad idea now. Puerto Ricans can move to the mainland now because they're U.S. citizens. Independence would make them foreigners. Imagine what ICE would do to them.
I am both very worried and incredulous that your country, one that for the most part rests perhaps too comfortably in the conviction that your governance has sufficient checks and balances to buffer and, if needed, neutralize someone just like your mad-as-a-hatter president, finds itself thus far all but entirely in the thrall of this exceedingly dangerous nutter.
DO SOMETHING! NOW!! And I suppose that I am directing this plea to your Congress and/or Senate.
7
Our laws are not designed to rein in a madman. The checks and balances may not work to stave off war and collapse.;
2
Disgusting! I sent a box of food that needs no cooking and some wipes etc down there.It was 40 dollars to mail it,but well worth it. Could not throw paper towels that far.
7
What, exactly, did we expect from this amoral incompetent?
13
Trump's malicious cruelty towards Puerto Rico is outrageous, but who is whispering in his ear, encouraging him in these loathsome acts? And why is FEMA dragging its heels in providing maximum help to the island? The whole mainland response to Puerto Rico's suffering is suspicious. We need to know why so many entities, including the well-equipped naval vessel in the harbor, haven't been able to render more aid.
6
We know all the glory details. They get worse and more outlandish by the day. He seems to have no soul, no compassion and no real understanding of the role of government. That said, where is Congress? Where are the "leaders" that could lessen this misery by legislation? Too busy guarding their postions for 2018 to do anything now. Senator Schumer where are you? Time to step up and put it on the line, before permanent damage to our country is done.
5
I suspect that while Robert Mueller is still at work, and while new outrages surface every day, that there are "glory" details that are yet for us to know.
Every day.. Who IS this guy? Whoever reads this knows who I'm talking about and the world just keeps on telling us what a despicable human being he is.
If the 25th amendment won't do it, we should just create another amendment
that would. Different times, different solutions.
8
12 years after Katrina, we still lack an adequate system for responding to natural disasters.
The first inadequacy is assessment. We are spoiled by instant communications and a belief that everything can be known right now or perhaps in a few minutes. When roads are blocked, cell towers down and electricity off, information stops moving, confusion reigns.
News media gush stories but do a disservice to actual needs. Traditional news sources report constantly but skip over details. They cover the sensational aspects of disasters in the first hours or days, then move to personal stories of suffering and survival. The Associated Press and other news sources take it as their role to sum up what has happened. This itself is dangerous, especially in the early hours, when no one knows the full extent of a disaster. The summing up winds up being, time and again, distortion of reality which in turn leads to a slow, sloppy response.
We can do much better than this. What is needed is orderly planning beforehand that involves assessment of the "what if?" possibilities of a hurricane of major force hitting Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (and other places). These are not great mysteries.
1. Pre-planning scenarios.
2. Rapid and accurate assessment.
3. Re-establishing communications inside and to the outside.
4. Immediate response to urgent needs.
5. Long term recovery assistance.
All of this plus coordinated response from military, FEMA, NGOs and civic organizations.
3
Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans are likely to relocate to the mainland. I beg them to register to vote and pay back Trump and the Republicans for their neglect and utter cruelty in 2018 and 2020.
8
Please let most of them relocate to Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
How many times and in how many ways does the villainous Trump play the race card, systematically undoing the hard-fought progress we managed to make in bringing people together in this country? Given the choice of being cruel or helpful, it unfortunately has become easy to predict which choice Trump (and most o the GOP) will make.
Throughout history--and during certain eras in particular--cruelty to others has always played well politically to negative, miserable, authoritarian types.
From the money-obsessed Ebenezer Scrooges to the nasty lower-class Bill Sikes and Madam Defarges of the world, rather than cooperating and aiding those in need, these villains believe the only way they personally can gain is at the expense of others. Worse, they appear to thorough enjoy other people's misery, which actually seems to make them feel better.
"If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin" (Charles Dickens).
We are in such a moment in our GOP-Trumperian era of Making America Worse.
They know no shame, and that is the problem!
2
And yet WH Chief of Staff John Kelly and Senator Lindsay Graham paint a picture of a President on top of his game and engaged the way a President ought to be, all evidence to the contrary. What is going on here? And once again we are faced with the question, "who are you going to believe, the media or us?" We can at least believe what we see with our own eyes, even if empiricism appears to be a vanishing art in this country: an obviously distraught and embarrassed Kelley staring at the floor while his boss spouts nonsense; a President and his Cabinet squandering taxpayer dollars on travel that has little if anything to do with government business; mounting evidence that our President is a racist based on his own words and actions; a President who would rather harm his own constituency than admit that he and his base's sworn enemy, Barack Obama, may have been at least partially right about providing affordable health care in the U.S. The scope of the problem here is too broad to lay at the feet of a vengeful, liberally biased press - everything that Trump touches, like some sort of weird anti-Midas, turns to dross. We have been taken over by a dictatorship of the complicit who conveniently blame outside forces for their mounting problems - the media, the liberals, left-leaning conservatives, 1st Amendment practitioners, the non-compliant courts, a whole host of minorities, and on and on. And who is waiting in the wings when this all collapses? Non other than Steve Bannon!
4
At least the GOP is likely to suffer consequences for this. I imagine there are quite a few Puerto Ricans who are looking at moving to the mainland right about now. And Florida is the closest point. And, once on the mainland, they can vote in presidential elections. If the Democratic Party has the means, they might educate these folks about which districts they might consider moving to, in order to make their votes throw a monkey wrench into the Florida legislature's carefully gerrymandered plans.
3
I hope in the future Paul Krugman is more open to criticisms of the neo-liberalism he espouses so that he doesn't again help to elect men like Donald Trump.
3
1st the very dark skinned citizens were unworthy of equal rights and justice, then brown skinned citizens of US territories were unworthy of emergency aid and reconstruction, now the poor citizens of all colors are unworthy of health care. What next? Will the mostly liberal wine country Californians be worthy of aid and reconstruction? Will the voters of this country realize before it's too late that the GOP in general and Trump in particular are sure that they and their rich donors are the only worthy US citizens.
4
Hmmmm?
Excellent opportunity for the Russians or Chinese to score big by trumping the US in assisting Puerto Rico's recovery.
Time to impeach Mr. Trump as unfit to be president of the US. How many times will he abandon US citizens and allies before he is tried for treason.
4
An answer to Antonia, N. Car....Some just wrote that Trump is the President
for 1/3 of our Public. We have confusion on many sides and complexes beyond reasonable "Reason". We are, as well, in a time when "Truth" is as Malleable with a "President" declaring the he is Infallible. We are also in a
Time when many have relegated the Historical Jesus to simply myth
or metaphor. There is Division, as well, within the Christian Faith. At 80,frankly, I am grateful that I was able to serve the Church in a time
when the divisions, visible or invisible, were not as evident or present.
Today we have "divisions" more factional that simple as congregations
Or Denominations. Discussion between political parties and sides are
complicated enough....religious factions and frictions are much more
complex and confusing....beyond common verbalization.
I am constantly disgusted and increasingly worried with every article I read in reference to Puerto Rico's stalled recovery.
That being said, it dawned on me this morning that the vast disparity between Trump's reaction to the recovery efforts in TX & FL vs. PR.
Just a reminder, both of those states have very large minority populations:
17% of Floridians are black, and 37% of Texans are hispanic.
The difference is that both of those states are represented by Republicans and VOTED for Trump. Key word: VOTED.
Puerto Ricans can't vote for the President. They don't have Republican congressmen/women or Republican senators. He can ignore them all day long and it won't change one single vote.
But TX & FL? He can't afford to lose those at any cost.
3
Let's see what he does with CA.
I just had the most disorienting experience. I just had a client in my office that has a business with hateful anti-Obama and anti-Clinton signs plastered all over. The guy LOVES Trump! He has a very ill spouse with big medical costs, purchases health insurance off the individual market, and complains endlessly about "Obamacare" and the terrible costs he's stuck with. Wait until Trump's Executive Order ends the health insurance he has. He'll be out of business and never have grasped how he got duped. It's a level of denial that I can't understand. It's impervious to facts.
12
I dare propose: We have Trump and our current GOP in office because of the kind of American people we have. By that, I mean to include also our economic and cultural institutions and the kind of values they promote.
More dangerous than Trump, is the Republican Party. More dangerous than the Republican Party are the Republican voters who cannot see facts, think, or be honest with themselves. More dangerous than the Republican voters are the American values of greed, selfishness and the need of instant self gratification.
Trump is merely the tip of the iceberg.
6
Donald Trump is indeed an "equal opportunity monster". However, without condoning, in any way, his behavior as President, it is his instinct for political survival that determines every policy decision that he makes. Like any good authoritarian, his main focus is to consolidate and maintain power. Therefore, every executive order he signs, and every piece of legislation he endorses, plays to the agenda of the radical Republican fringe now controlling Congress. The denigration of climate science, xenophobia, racism, destruction of the EPA,State Dept, HUD, HHS, Dept of Education, existing trade agreements, Iran nuclear deal, ACA, all are an attempt to assure the support of the Republican Congress. This Presidency is clearly a group effort between Trump and a Republican Congress which, with the exception of a few moderates, marches in lockstep with his ideology.
1
Let's just hope that enough Puerto Ricans move to Florida and register to vote to ensure that Florida becomes a reliable Blue State in upcoming elections.
4
A nation gets the government it deserves.
5
Do you really believe that we deserve Trump even after Clinton won the popular vote?
3
It's always important to remember that without the acquiescence of Republicans, this man is nothing; Ryan, McConnell et al. are complicit and fully responsible for everything Trump does.
6
Paul Krugman's superb column today reminds us of the folly of the Jones Act, a law passed after WWI to curtail U-Boat attacks in the future. It should have been repealed after WWII. But no, Trump waived it early on for Texas and Florida, states he carried in the election, but dragged his feet on doing so for Puerto Rico--hurtful to shippers?--and has already reinstated it for P.R. But then, Puerto Ricans can't vote in federal elections so he doesn't need their votes. And now, Trump will further alienate our allies who co-signed the Iranian accord. He claims he has restored America's standing. Bullroar! He has harmed it almost irreparably. IMPEACH
1
Why why on earth are we not airlifting necessary supplies to remote areas? Our military does this all the time. Waiting for roads to be "cleared" is ridiculous. DJT is clueless, but all those generals around surely know how to do this.
2
What would Trump's response be if China or Russia were to begin massive aid to Puerto Rico ?
3
Paul,
It's coming. The Republican effort to restrict Puerto Rican immigration is coming.
6
It's time for the Republicans in Congress to stand up and do something about this heinous president. Are they in favor of his tearing down everything our nation has cherished for over 200 years? Is it all being thrown away now to benefit the rich and richer? How is it that the very people on the mainland who will suffer most when the Republicans are done are their most vehement supporters?
Puerto Rico is our country too, but they are not equal under this administration because they are not lily-white and they speak Spanish. No American now living will ever be able to forget the shame that has fallen upon us all.
2
Racism is the main factor in understanding why Puerto Rico is not getting needed aid. But my hunch is that this is personal.
Although Puerto Rico does not participate in the U.S. Presidential elections, they do participate in the presidential primaries. Guess who got slaughtered in the 2016 Puerto Rico Republican primary? Oh, I'll bet you guessed. It was none other than Donald Trump.
"Lil Marco" smeared Trump in PR by a margin of 70% to 13%. Puerto Rico's Republicans did not fall for the political con job by Trump. Their intution was right, but now they are paying a high price for their electoral "slight" of our "dear leader."
5
Trump needs mental help to guide his government efforts to fix Puerto Rico.
Here’s something better then his all mouth, no brains public relations strategy.
I suggest the head of every Puerto Rican family unit beg, borrow or steal enough money to buy one-way airline tickets for each member to fly to one of our major airport cities where they can just seek relatives and social help societies to settle them into the city.
Then Trump can take his time, or just forget about it.
1
To paraphrase JFK .... we are all Puerto Ricans.
Where are the Christian politicians and the rest of the GOP? Like their reading of the Constitution, their reading of the Bible is selective.
148
Why can't Paul Krugman use 'literally' correctly?
paul: The person whom you do not dare call a monster, Trump, because he may lack the construction of cremation ovens, he is beyond good and evil, because we allow him.
2
We NYers knew Trump wasn't going to improve, mature, or "grow into the presidency." If anything, he's shown that he's worse than the real estate exec and wannabe celebrity we laughed about. Now he's endangering the country and even the globe with his short-sighted, impatient, bigoted ignorance. I wish the San Juan mayor would run for president in 2020--especially if he's still around for a try at a second term, which I doubt. I'd vote for her in a New York minute.
2
I have this "where are we going and why am I in this hand basket" feeling. We are not yet through one year of the Trump presidency. Look at all the damage done so far, and with more done each day. No, our institutions are not strong enough to withstand the malevolence of Trump and the power of the presidency. We will never be the same.
7
The thought experiment that begins the column would be persuasive if hate did not trump reason, pardon the pun. At the level of the individual Puerto Rican, the solution to the crisis is obvious: MIGRATE.
Reason tells us that purple sates will soon turn blue. However, hate trumps reason. Republicans will remain in denial about the consequences of the migration and suffer the consequences at the polls. Meanwhile, not 34 or 43 deaths will be reported in the territory/colony, but a number which is orders of magnitude higher. Survivors who identify with their lost compatriots will never forget. To heartless Republicans, Trump's only bitter legacy will be that he lost their party.
5
No, Anony, the solution to the crisis is not migration. The solution to the crisis is reconstruction and then the attainment of independence from the United States Empire.
Don't forget that red states receive the most federal money. And regardless of how much debt they have.
6
The Trump Administration is almost certain to do too little, too late to help the people of Puerto Rico. And much of what it does will be shaped by Wall Street hedge funds which hold so much of the Island's debt and shipping companies that rely on the protectionism provided by the Jones Act.
The only true solution is evacuation of much of the Island's population to the mainland. Again, the Trump Administration is unlikely to do anything to that ends because it would mean adding voters to States such as Carolinas and Florida who are likely to remember what the GOP did not do in this crisis.
The solution is going to have to come from companies and individuals who take upon themselves the challenge of organizing and funding a massive evacuation that can get hundreds of thousands of people to the mainland where they qualify for help. Moreover, time is short as the diseases that are now emerging are likely to become of epidemic scale.
5
Now, since Labor Day, there have been three once-in-a-century storms and a massacre at a concert, and everybody in the country knows that the federal government is the only institution with the capacity—and the moral obligation—to act to relieve the suffering.
Platitudes about markets and bootstraps don't slake the thirst of people so desperate that they'll drink chemical waste to survive. Oddly, neither Trump nor Ryan nor anyone else is saying this stuff about the people in Houston or in Florida. Maybe there aren't any market forces.
2
Let's give this a name: Colonialism. This is precisely the behavior of imperialist and colonialist regimes. But let's remove this from the abstract: In 1898 Puerto Rico was invaded and taken over by the US. This is textbook imperialism. It is now a US colony, making it a textbook case of colonialism. The history of colonialism is one of extending perceived inequalities, virtually always with racial, ethnic, economic, or linguistic undertones dictating the order of power. This is exactly what Trump is doing in Puerto Rico. It is being ignored, or even tacitly agreed to, by the Republicans, whether establishment or what have come to be called conservatives. Trump is openly announcing and perpetuating his imperialist and colonialist aspirations with this reprehensible, but all too typical, arrogance.
6
House Passes Disaster Relief, Puerto Rico Credit Bill
Measure would provide $36.5 billion in aid for victims of hurricanes and wildfires as well as low-interest Treasury loan to island territory
I believe the House is Republican dominated.
I am waiting for complaints, "$36.5 billion is not enough. Look how stingy the Republicans are!"
Republicans are not the "good guys" in my book. But neither are they as bad as Dr. Krugman pretends.
2
But, the devil is in details. How much of that money will go to Puerto Rico? How much of it will be spent shipping supplies via extortionist shipping rates because the Jones Act now applies?
The devil is always in the details with Trump. There is always a profit angle being played with his Regime.
2
I totally disagree, they are much worse as evidence by their total failure to take action to either remove this maniac, or pass measure to restrict his power.
2
It's very simple; many people in Puerto Rico have brown skin of some shade, speak Spanish, though many are bilingual and can't vote because they live on a US territory and not a state. As far as Trump is concerned this makes them less worthy of consideration than usual. He still sticks it to the rest of us, but will try to put the right spin on it if it is expedient for him.
So I worry a great deal about the Americans on that island because I know them personally. I've been in some tough situations and it's been my Puerto Rican neighbors that have come through for me again and again despite the whiteness of my skin.
4
Americans generally have a very high regard for ex-Presidents Obama, Clinton, Carter and the two Bush Presidents. It is time and past-time for them to jointly call for the removal of President Trump from office by impeachment or the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.
8
We have spent 110 billion dollars rebuilding Afghanistan since 2002 yet we can abandon Puerto Rico after a natural disaster. Maybe they would be better as just another Caribbean country. Cuba would send them doctors to aid them and they could get supplies from any country without going through US shipping. If we aren't rebuilding then we should just grant independence and move on. This isn't helping them. These are Americans and they pay taxes.
9
So, Puerto Ricans should have been better prepared for Hurricane Maria, and used their past federal aid to better effect in helping their people. False equivalency rules demand that equal time be given to the other side. Let’s take a look at Florida and Texas. How prepared were they for their hurricanes? Did they evacuate fast enough? Have they used federal monies efficiently and wisely at all times in the past? How are funds being used? How quickly are they rebuilding? Are they atoning enough for their sins? A child can see through this sham argument easily enough. Obviously, there is no comparison when there are such disparities in wealth. What if a hurricane hit your neighborhood and the governor started to rate the recovery efforts? “This neighbor has not kept up with our superior recovery efforts. We have checked the loans and debts this neighbor has, and we judge their character as insufficient…” What if those neighbors happen to be of color and speak a different language? Come on, people. This is a humanitarian crisis! We should not be comparing bank accounts or judging characters or cultures. False equivalency has gotten into our souls, and racism still exists in our hearts. The president has no right to judge Puerto Ricans or their efforts. That is the essential point of Mr. Krugman’s column. We (including the president) have a patriotic and moral obligation to do all we can to help Puerto Rico to get on their feet again.
9
I never thought I'd see the day when a majority of Americans would have to defend themselves against the the actions of the president of United States on a daily basis! It's not the first time that we have seen this from a leader in world history but it is arguably the first time we have seen this in American history.
7
And the US Virgin Islands seem even more forgotten than Puerto Rico. I don't like to make comparisons in misery because every loss is sad and incomparable. But don't the people of the Virgin Islands and their plight deserve as much reporting as Puerto Ricans?
9
I am not sure we can survive four years of tdump and his crowd. At the very least, we will be so damaged it will take decades to recover.
2
Or is it a tactic to force the people to flee? I have been all over PR and Vieques. It is stunningly beautiful. The people are kind. Even in the face of the abuse heaped on them via their economy, they are not in open revolt. The young just leave. Real estate barons, like our president, can buy up fabulous real estate abandoned by the poor as they mass exodus. Maybe I'm just jaded.
3
I see the claim made that Puerto Ricans pay no Federal taxes, so this is their own look-out.
Beyond wondering whan the state of Glorious Texas is going to kick in some of its $10 billion rainy day fund (an interesting name, given that what did the damage in Houston was precisely rain), Puerto Ricans pay business taxes, payroll taxes, and estate taxes.
Many don't pay personal income taxes, largely because their incomes are low.
2
Although Krugman is correct, he just doesn't get it. Many ,if not most,Trump voters did not really expect things to get better under Trump. But they knew that things also would not get better for them under Hillary. They are just vicariously enjoying watching Trump stick it to the establishment and especially the upper middle class elite who have ignored or demeaned them for so long. They are gloating at having the elites be as powerless and frustrated as they have been for decades.
Hopefully, Krugman and the rest of the elites will catch on and learn to listen, pay attention, and support real progressive ideas before the next election.
1
@Jack
Catch on?
Paul Krugman is absolutely a powerful progressive voice we have valued for years. Brilliant economists reaching millions in frequent print essays does not make them "elites." It makes their brilliance shared. Facts have a liberal bias.
I still recall when he wrote it so perfectly--and I paraphrase--that progressivism in America has valued intellectual integrity plus openness to evidence, while conservatism again and again rejects all of that — and that is why is why scientists overwhelmingly lean Democratic.
I have admired the reporting that David Begnaud on CBS has been doing in Puerto Rico, going into the towns far from San Juan to show the misery and suffering. We and our government could do better, that's not in dispute. When those in power decide that a group of citizens are less important than others, nothing but misery can ensue.
3
We didn't overlook Puerto Ricans when we bestowed citizenship on them one hundred years ago, one month before entering WWI. They were drafted to help us win the World Wars and drafted whenever a draft existed to help us in every other conflict or war thereafter, win, lose, or draw. Non-voting citizens, of course, subject to most U.S. taxes, and with no right to vote to elect a President or ability to impeach a President through their nonexistent Senators or Representatives.
They are not treated like needy Iowans, Texans, or Floridians. They never have been.
A remedy for this may come soon. Puerto Ricans have a nonbinding vote on statehood next June. It would be up to Congress to welcome them as full citizens if Puerto Ricans vote to become the 51st state.
6
Here is a scientific study I would dearly love to see but know I never will: The president, the vice president, every member of the cabinet and his staff, and every single Republican in Congress, as well as every single Democrat in Congress, would be asked questions regarding their actual actions and votes on issues in which empathy as well as economic considerations played a big role. While recounting their actions and votes, a highly sensitive scanning device would record the areas of their brains that become especially active. I would be willing to bet my puny monthly pension that the results in Republicans' brains and Democrats' brains would be radically different. Any takers?
2
I find the image of the president glibly tossing paper towels at Maria victims to be a metaphor that perfectly reflects his approach to the office - giving out a few rolls of paper towels in order to claim credit for stopping the flood and repairing the damage it caused. Usually I say more in these comments - in this case, words are unnecessary.
6
A few years ago, under Bush, the world watched in disbelief as CNN showed people in real distress in New Orleans. We asked, how can the wealthiest nation on the planet allow its citizen to drown and do, basically, nothing? It is all happening again, even more so. The problem as we see it, is a cultural, deep rooted, dislike of government, manifested by cheering crowds while this administration destroys hard won, necessary, legislation.
3
Trump is becoming the architect of a humanitarian crisis in PR and VI with his back-handed attempts to appear to help when he really is not. Selling them short and reneging on US responsibilities will not soon be forgotten. How bad will this get? Disease is already gaining a foothold in these tropical areas, and even under optimal conditions, disease thrives in these climates. Three million potential hosts in a closed island environment, with limited electricity, water, food, sanitation. Major hurricane recovery can take years even with assistance pipelines immediately at full throttle. Add a limited infrastructure to begin with and it spells disaster unless someone steps up yesterday.
2
All of this should have been expected from President Trump. Trump has no way to lose except in Florida(he probably doesn't realize it}. He doesn't care about NY voters because they are against him. So call them out for the past and say tough luck, and that's what he did.
Puerto Rico is used to threats from the powerful. Each time a non-binding referendum has been held for statehood, the major employers threaten our livelihood. The doomsday machine manufactures intimidations. Only then we leave our homeland, do we become full citizens. Sad.
It is shameful and likely grounds - and reason- for impeachment proceedings to be begun (add it to the list of MANY reasons)
1
Let's be clear--Trump has no interest in solving problems--in Puerto Rico, health care or anywhere else. He just wants to hear the cheering adulation of his boosters--some 70-80% of Republicans who believe in a Fox-News-fueled alternate reality where others (mostly dark-skinned people, including our previous president) are to blame. Grievance, anger, and blame go a long way to keeping his troops excited and engaged, and Trump is more than happy to keep them sated.
1
Who are the people that voted for the Donald and endorse these policies? They aren't American. This horror is not my America. Ten months is about all of the Donald I think we should have to put up with.
This, the Trump presidency, isn't a revolution; it's spite.
It's the systematic looting of resources while the country floods and burns. It's not rational, roaches behave the same way and roaches would destroy their own environment to get what they want.
Hatred and misinformation are the tools to accomplish their agenda. There's a portion of the population that wants this. I don't know what to do about these people except they have to be opposed. We can recover our country, in time, if we begin to stand up to the guns, the banks, and the speculators all the time, and whenever they try to change the subject.
Whew, glad it's not Iowa. However, it is beyond disgusting how Trump and FEMA are treating Puerto Rico. But then why would we expect any humanity or empathy to come from Trump or his administration when they just took a chain saw to health care with an executive order leaving millions without a way to pay for their insurance and even if they could pay, it will be worthless insurance without sufficient coverage. I just wish I could wake up tomorrow in a different reality.
Trump is talking to his minions in WI, Mich and PA who brought this boob to power. Blame the victim. Their is no good in Trump's mind helping these brown people who he has utter contempt for. 3 weeks into the massive clean up is too long for Trump. The Public Relations take from Trump is that Puerto Rico is burdening the US, which they are part of, with not doing enough for themselves.
1
Well, what did you expect, they're brownish Americans. Like all the rest of the abandoned black, brown and beige Americans who, historically, have been abandoned right here on terra firma, continental North America specifically, the 'United States' of America. As long as we have a government that was founded on discrimination, we will continue to experience episodes of this kind... it's in the national DNA, and each "alt" is strutting its stuff during this current era of venting led by a discriminating White House.
3
Why does the opening line in Paul Krugman's article reference Iowa?
He made a very good point by using Iowa in the opening. It is all about race and it doesn't matter how many people of color die,they aren't as American as the people in Iowa are
2
First, it would be helpful if you read past the second paragraph of Krugman’s column. In short, it’s Krugman’s way of showing us that if this was happening to Iowa, we would be gravely alarmed at the lack of government response. Instead, given that his reference to Iowa is actually meant for PR, it reveals, to put it lightly, Trump’s insensitivity to people of color.
3
Because Iowa has the same population. He is making a comparison. Did you read the article past the first sentence?
3
Perhaps it's time to consider granting statehood to Puerto Rico!
2
The Marquis de Trump strikes again!
Will you be next?
4
More "fake news" from the pen of Paul Krugman. And I've noted how he's chosen to continue to bash Trump while ignoring the misogyny and sexual assaults committed by Harvey Weinstein, Hollywood Liberal.
4
AB -- absolutely. Krugman is a deranged progressive who has lost the ability to think critically on any political topic.
1
Interesting how Trump is ignoring it also, no??
2
This comment is absurd; this is not an article about sexual assault and sexual predators, whether in Hollywood or in Washington, DC, have relevance.
4
We have the Las Vegas massacre and the Trump massacres, nothing will change as long as the Republicans are in charge.
3
Is there any doubt? The most amoral man to occupy the WH.
11
"Is there any doubt? The most amoral man to occupy the WH."
He's retired the title, I hope.
Our bully president does not care about people. That is frightening to say! He could nuke 25 million N. Koreans and pass off the collateral damage of thousands, perhaps millions killed by the retaliation of N.Korea. Increased health insurance costs for a few million Americans, the elimination of contraceptives for millions of women, the millions, even billions impacted by a warming Earth are acceptable to the president of the U.S. Leaving a few million from Puerto Rico suffering, even dying cannot and do not matter to this president. When repairing the electric grid make it better than it was, for God's sake! It is incredulous that our president doesn't care how many humans are hurt by his decisions and anti-regulations and anti-Obama stances.
Jeremiah 22: "Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness?Then it was well with him.16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;then it was well. Is not this to know me? says the LORD.17 But your eyes and heartare only on your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood,and for practicing oppression and violence."
We have a president creating too much violence against women, the people of Puerto Rico, the environment, blacks, homosexuals, and nations of the planet. We have too much threatened violence against to many nations (from N.Korea to Iran to....).
2
Somewhere in Texas, George W. Bush is saying, "Donnie, you're doing a heck of a job."
2
Let's all go to Washington and throw paper towels at the White House. Maybe they can be used to clean up that swamp.
9
This is very much like some people's response to a case of rape. Blame the victim. What are we teaching our children. That only white people count. Lucky for me I am white. Not rich, but white so just because of that I am special. I am embarrassed that this is what some of our white leaders think and behave like. They are still cave men in their thinking and behavior
4
Three more years of this madness???!!!! How will we look in three more years?
10 named hurricanes!
Temperatures rising!
Trump wants COAL!
We need wind!
The GOP's reign must end!
Donnie is inhumane!
5
GLSBER -- get your facts straight. Here are years where there were 8 or more named hurricanes from 1851 through 1999. Of course we had a crazy year in 2005 with 15
Do you think any of these "unusual" years were due to global warming. 1870 perhaps? And remember, until we had satellites and planes flying around we didn't know about all the Atlantic storms so the per so there were likely -- according to the client change denying national hurricane center -- that earlier decades in their database, the number of storms was probably under reported.
Second point -- the warming that is reported is based primarily on estimates. The global data base of temps is very thin and full of holes. Most parts of the planet didn't have but a few temp stations prior to 1950+ and many areas are not covered well.
And coal is reliable. Wind is great -- until it doesn't blow. Then there are those pesky transmission lines and those ugly wind turbines dotting the country side. How about nukes? You go for that. Remember -- fossil fuels built this country and enabled modern life.
10 in 1870
10 in 1878
10 in 1886
11 in 1887
10 in 1893
10 in 1916
8 in 1926
11 in 1933
8 in 1944
11 in 1950
9 in 1955
8 in 1961
12 in 1969
9 in 1980
8 in 1990
11 in 1995
9 in 1996
10 in 1998
8 in 1999
2
no Paul....trump threw.the paper towels so that people could 'sop up' the flood waters........
Please delete my comment - I reacted before reading further. Good lesson for me!
5
Pitiful, but accurate. We have reduced America to "every man for himself." We reduced Jimmy Carter, a man of honesty, faith and integrity to ridicule, to begin the long decline of the "me" culture. Ushering in the Reagan acolytes to rape and pillage the economy and with it the lifestyles it fostered in the post war American experience. When completed it will destroy us all.
6
The federal government stands exposed as an irresponsible racist entity showering contempt on the people of Puerto Rico. I would suggest they separate from the US and become part of another country, even Cuba. An alternative is the become a state. We could benefit from their 2 senators.
It is time to move to a country with a functional government.
4
Let's see: abandonment of 3.5 million non-white, non-voters. The base loves it. That explains it.
8
I'm just waiting for Trump to tweet something to the effect of why is Puerto Rico even part of the US? His golf course there was a disaster, PR can't vote for president, and their political leaders have the audacity to talk back to him. He has no use for the place.
3
Of course Trump is not interested in Puerto Rico. With some exceptions, they are brown, speak Spanish and are poor. Blame the victims.
3
This paper has not provided much coverage of the crisis in Puerto Rico so there's not much pressure on the government to address it. Out of sight out of mind.
There should be an ongoing segment on the front page titled "crisis in Puerto Rico" with updates on the situation. The fact that it has effectively fallen off this paper's radar is all we need to know.
6
How much of that crisis exists because of the island's actions in the years before it hit land? They federal government should provide assistance but there should be limits, including in Texas and Louisiana. Past events including Katrina and Sandy were debacles that shan't be repeated.
1
The irony is that a third world part of the world - Puerto Rico - is being dissed by the president elected by the third world part of...USA!
3
We have only ourselves to blame. GOP greed and citizen apathy make for a volatile cocktail.
3
The president doesn't care about Puerto Rico he just wants to lower property values there so his developer friends can sweep in and make billions. But where are the rock stars. Why aren't they doing a massive fundraiser at Madison Square Garden. Please they are Americans who are slowly dying as the president drives around on a golf cart. Bruce, Billy, Paul, Bono, do you hear me.
2
Puerto Rico will be Donald Trump's lasting legacy...a literal reminder to generations to come that the 45th president of the United States of America was a soulless cretin suffering from the worst case of malignant narcissism any of us has ever seen in a public figure.
Showing compassion for your fellow man isn't a requirement for presidency-- it's a requirement for humanity. And Trump fails every time.
8
Below is a quote from a January 2, 2016 article appearing in the Times. It encapsulates the ugliness at the heart of Trump's character.
"But the drama was hardly put to rest. Freddy’s son, Fred III, spoke at the funeral, and that night, his wife went into labor with their son, who developed seizures that led to cerebral palsy. The Trump family promised that it would take care of the medical bills.
Then came the unveiling of Fred Sr.’s will, which Donald had helped draft. It divided the bulk of the inheritance, at least $20 million, among his children and their descendants, “other than my son Fred C. Trump Jr.”
Freddy’s children sued, claiming that an earlier version of the will had entitled them to their father’s share of the estate, but that Donald and his siblings had used “undue influence” over their grandfather, who had dementia, to cut them out.
A week later, Mr. Trump retaliated by withdrawing the medical benefits critical to his nephew’s infant child."
8
Yawn. The mouth that bored once again conveniently forgets the abject, even criminal, mismangement of this island by corrupt local authorities over the decades that left them laughably unprepared - even to receive aid. Their out-migration of the young and productive has been massive for years as there are few jobs and no adult supervision to be found anywhere. Even escaped natives did not go there for vacation. So bulldoze it, make it a naval base, send the few millions to NYC, 'Frisco and Chappaqua where no doubt the welcome wagons will line up for them. Right.
1
Why are so few people being helped aboard the Comfort hospital ship??Do they know it's even there?Are they unable to get there?
2
As pompous Donald Trump threw paper towels--rather than some of Marie Antoinette's cake--at Puerto Ricans ten days ago, he was treating them like I've seen Westerners treating the poor in Third-World countries. But now, he is forced to choose between sending relief to two Blue "States"--California and Puerto Rico.
Infrastructure is the key! We certainly have numerous active and National Guard troops in both the West and the East. And, why hasn't Donald's FEMA been planning for such contingencies, Just because there were four active hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean, there was no reason to expect that the seemingly never-ending wildfires would disappear from the West!
Besides the Military and FEMA, our highway system provides the ability of various relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts to easily arrive--when safe--from neighboring states, first responders from Southern California, and let's not forget the Home Depot's, Lowe's, supermarket chains.
But, Puerto Rico, on the other hand, has little, if any of such Infrastructure. Just other neighboring islands, all of which are in the same boat--death, destruction and the long-term aspects of dehydration, barely functioning hospitals, a lack of food and water, and the long-term health aspects of living under such conditions.
Ohh yes, he did visit an upscale gated community with virtually no damage!
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
1
Monster vs. Russian operative? Which makes more sense? With what is known today, particularly from the Mueller investigation, the answer is Russian operative. Benedict donald doesn't care if people are hurt or well-off, people are irrelevant to him. He needed money, Vladimir had money, Louis, it was the start of a beautiful friendship. Nowadays, Benedict disrupts and divides the U.S. to aid and comfort Vladimir.
PROSECUTE RUSSIAGATE!
1
The incompetence and neglect by FEMA and the vindictive neglect by the Trump Administration is rapidly fostering the devolving of Puerto Rico into a public health disaster not unlike Haiti. How soon will cholera epidemics break out?
1
I just wish that the recipients of the thrown paper towels had thrown them back at Trump.
It reminds us of one of the most famous quotes in history, when Marie-Antoinette said “Let them eat cake.”! Displaying insensitivity towards the poor population of France, she literally lost her head with that callous remark several years later.
Oh that Trump in displaying insensitivity for the people of Puerto Rico and citizens of the USA would suffer the same political fate and be thrown out of office by the people!
5
As a doctor pointed out in an article in NEJM, if a new disease suddenly killed 58 people and made 500 very sick, the nation's health care system would react immediately. However, these people were killed and injured by guns and nothing will be done.
Similarly, Krugman's sleight of hand is telling about the disaster in PR. As Paul alludes, this is just one of a series of attacks on the people of PR going back many years. As long as mostly southern racists control American politics, "non-white" Americans are going to suffer from their hate.
Anyone care to take a knee?
1
Things with this guy are getting worse every day. Now it seems there can be 2 or 3 hits a day. Everything he says and does is premised on being mean. He is just mean, mean, mean. Everything he does aims to hurt people. Puerto Rico yesterday, mainlanders who need health care subsidies today.
I want to know when the AWOL U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate are going to fix this. They seem like deer in the headlights. Wake up! Get out of the bubble! Give it up! You are not going to save your stash or your status.
I'm sure Versailles is a very nice place to live. But it's time to move out and get to work on saving the democracy and the ethos of the U.S.
4
3.5 million Puerto Rican’s will move to the mainland just in time for the 2020 census and election
I wonder which party they will vote for?
6
I remind the NYT readers that after the Haiti disaster, Pat Robertson, a so-called evangelist, said that the Haitians deserved what they got since they were devil worshipers. I suppose that this will be applied to the Puerto Rico, since colored folks are lower class humans. At least, this is in the back of the minds of the Trump gang.
2
Pat Robertson is a has-been. His chief influence is among secular progressives, who value him as a straw man.
Why not quote some of today's evangelical leaders for a change?
1
OK, how about, Falwell, the owner of Liberty University? If there is anyone who tries to use religion to further himself, that is one. Try Graham, Jr. Another good example of why religion is a good business. But Robertson smoothed their path to profit.
1
Oh, why not go so far as to call Donald Trump `an equal opportunity monster`, Dr. Paul? For that is precisely what he is today. The truth is the truth and cannot be disguised by lies and `alternative facts`. In your piece today - Let Them Eat Paper Towels`- you have proven that those who enable the Republican ruin of America by Donald Trump`s regime are guilty of destroying Puerto Rico and her millions of Americans (of latino and hispanic nd black descent, bless them!) and guilty of America`s greatest shame to date since the bloody institution of slavery. We, Americans all, who care for our fellow human beings and our country, hang our heads today in unutterable shame. We have all allowed a wicked monster to become our 45th President.
2
As long as Trump makes punching bags of women, Muslims, Latinos, the disabled and the poor, be is not an equal-opportunity monster.
Ignoring Puerto Rico is part of his "Make America White Again" strategy, and I'm sure his base is pleased.
2
One solution suggested, crazy as it sounds, is to help as many Puerto Ricans as possible move to Florida, where they can register and make that state Blue again. Same with Texas or Arizona. After all, they ARE American citizens, not immigrants. Just Florida and one other state would have kept Trump out of the White House and can take him out in 2020.
America is, once again, all about race and the White, "Christian" Tribe as dominant. (I say "Christian" because many millions of REAL Christians, including Pope Francis, are disgusted and repelled by Trump's followers' bigotry). Whining that kneeling at football games isn't "the right way" to protest just reinforces to non-White and Hispanic Americans that "the right way" for them to protest is....no way! There is no "right way" according to the White tribalists. There is no "right way" to criticize Trump, according to Trump. Hence his calls to gag and muzzle NBC, CNN, MSNBC, the Times, the Washington Post and anyone else who DARES challenge his most blatant lies with their "fake news".
We are in the midst of willful and deliberate destruction of our Democratic Republic to create a feudal dictatorship run by the super-rich (ie, the Mercers and Kochs) with Trump as Supreme Leader, and NO recourse for the hoi polloi. Steven Bannon said as much with his calls for destruction of the "deep state" (whatever that is) and his backing of blatant fascists and criminals for office.
2
Perhaps there is another reason for his animosity towards Puerto Ricans. They don't have the vote? Oh yeah? They are clearly the three million who voted for Hillary!
2
This man used to simply be an undereducated, over privileged con man with an infantile temper and small hands. He has now crossed over into evil.
6
What more do we expect from this bigot ? Obviously he cares little , if at all , about Puerto Rico ( wasn't his accent a beautiful display of his respect ? ).
Although Puerto Ricans are American citizens they are brown , unfortunately at this time with this "president" . tRump is an elitist , he is only for whites , not just whites , but whites that vote for him and suck up to him . He has not the slightest concept of leadership , nor of empathy . Instead of drawing the nation together to help ALL victims of these ferocious natural disasters , he chooses to divide our nation and point his ( little ) finger at Puerto Rico and paints them as irresponsible and therefore not worthy of much help from our national government . People are going hungry and most are without fresh drinking water . . .as well as many without the medicines they need , nor the electricity .
Thousands are homeless and there is little communication on the island .
Meanwhile our very comfortable and chubby "president" playfully tosses rolls of paper towels to those lucky enough to catch them like tossing foul shots . . .
very FOUL . This was an ugly display akin to Marie Antoinette , in a different era saying , " Let them eat cake " , when there was no bread for the people to eat at the time of the French Revolution . Well , we know what happened to her . . .
but with this corrupt grifter we have to do it legally - get him out of office .
It will take the work of a lot of people to do it , but please HURRY.
4
I don't think that's how guilt works, though. The administration and it's abettors (outspoken and tacit assentors) are jointly and severally liable for all of it.
2
....and yet no one will stop him
4
Why not say what's really going on here: The response from the White House (properly named) to Puerto Rico is laced with racism. Our President doesn't want to help people of color.
6
“Whatever the precise mix of motives, what’s happening in Puerto Rico is utterly shameful.”
I believe his motives are not a mixture, but a measure of how he views people of color and religions other than White Christianity(I’m still trying to figure out what Genesis-Revelations says differently to them, but no time for that today.)
The disgusting news media didn’t write/say the following quotes, our President did and I believe it will reveal a theme that will provide understanding of his views on Puerto Rico.
1) 2012 “An extremely credible source has called my office and told me@barackobama’s birth certificate is a fraud.”
2) 2015 “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best.”
3) After the September 11 attacks, “There were people celebrating”... “Where you have large Arab populations.”
No mixture Sir, just a measure of his myopic views.
2
What a year of disasters: Harry, Irma, Maria, northwest fires, and Trump. What next?
1
Wow--talk about bad taste!! I know this sentiment isn't terribly popular but I find Paul Krugman's attempts to start a race/ethnic war by pitting an imaginary hypothetical natural disaster in lily white Iowa against a real natural disaster in Spanish speaking Puerto Rico stupid and cruel beyond belief. At the end of October New York observes its 5th post Hurricane Sandy anniversary. Personally I disliked Barack Obama's detached aloofness after Hurricane Sandy left the Rockaways in ruins back in 2012. But I guess throwing paper towels at people would have been beneath Obama's carefully cultivated "Adult In The Room" Persona. Being ignored by the president is a whole lot worse than having a president show up and pull some tacky stunt like tossing supplies at everyone.
1
>
We all must accept and endure the punishment which specific Bernie supporters with their Yosemite Sam logic condemned us to when they did NOT vote for HRC, moreover, we're just getting warmed up here. Ya ain't seen nothing yet.
N.B., If the shoe fits, wear it.
“What cannot be cured must be endured.”
Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy
2
This is it folks. We can write about it, talk about it, dream about it, watch it on TV, but we can't get rid of it. IT truly is the clown in the sewer and it scares the bejeezus out of me.
5
Thanks so much for helping President Trump.
1
The man is a psychopath, and a narcissistic one at that. The only people who are bewildered here at his behavior are the ones not conscious of psychopaths. Trump happens to be an extreme public figure example of one. They are all around us, Im sure you know one, but perhaps you dont realize it yet. I suggest the book Without Conscience: the Disturbing World of Psychopaths Among Us by Robert Hare to stimulate awareness.
2
It is interesting how comfortable Americans have become with the holocaust being televised. Day after day you can see Americans being threatened, dismissed and abandon by their President during a crisis. With no water, food or electricity,medicine and disease is spreading and people are dying. No one can miss the televised holocaust yet many of Trump administration including General Kelly shockingly tried to explain the rational of Trump threats to American. It doesn't matter anymore what the Trump administration motives are but we should be very concerned that Americans have become so comfortable with watching other Americans being destroyed because one day our turn may come.
5
Face it, Trump’s decisions on PR just play to the basest and vilest prejudices of his base. And of his soul. Hey, PRs are brown. No hablan inglés. Take lazy siestas. And probably Papist can to boot. Not worth helping. We just can’t shrug this off as another demonstration of his unfitness to be President. Congress and his cabinet must act!
4
"And probably Papist to boot."
While I agree with the rest of your comment, on this part you're about half a century behind the times. Even Richard Hofstadter, writing in the early 60's, noted that right-wing Protestants and Catholics were joining forces for political and social ends. While it's true that JFK raised alarms in 1960 about potentially being controlled by the Pope, since his death Catholicism has been a non-issue, at least on the right. Consider Pat Buchanan, Paul Ryan, Steve Bannon, and most of the "federalist" wing of the Supreme Court.
Excellent article (as usual by Paul Krugman). It should ask for impeachment though as argued in https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/abandoning-puerto-rico-would-be-....
'Trump destituendo est.'
1
Trump could care less about PR because they do not vote for President, they have no voting member in congress, and they are not what he considers white. Its not about the people but what can they do for him!!!
2
Krugman has no sense of humor. If that was him buried in the crowd your tiny little hands would have been the first in the air shouting ME ME like all the grateful Puerto Ricans seen smiling at the prospect of catching a roll of Bounty. That video went viral and publicized the great work POTUS has done for those destitute people. He was helping. It is akin to putting soup in a bowl at a homeless shelter. You leftists criticize him for everything. Get over it already. Trump won.
2
Did you get over it when Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were president for two terms each, with both electoral- and popular-vote victories? Maybe you did personally, but there were plenty who did not.
Mr. Trump's response to Hurricane Maria, his obsession with taking affordable health care away from millions, with or without Congress, his demagoguery, his bullying, his vindictiveness, his softness on right-wing violence, and other offenses have given us many, many reasons not to accept his presidency.
If you were living in the 1920's, would you tell the Italians that since Mussolini is now Il Duce, they should just get over it?
My hope is that every single on of his voters buys his version of healthcare.
That they find out that they got ripped off when they need health care the most and find out they bought coverage for bandaids and aspirin.
He is trying to distract us all but he is mostly playing to his hateful xenophobic base that still believe his other lie about President Obama being born in Kenya.
I hope every single one of his supporters try to get HIS beautiful version of health care when they are desperate for medicines they can't afford.
5
Trump base; What will you do when he comes for you?
6
At this point, Puerto Rico would be better off throwing its lot in with China or Spain, rather than a failed, racist nation such as the United States. Without the American coporate leeches dragging it down, Puerto Rico could actually become a real nation unto itself should it decide to do that.
Nobody really needs the US these days, it’s clear.
2
Dr. Krugman's column shows the soul of this man in the Maison Blanche: a white supremacist and a racist: he hates Latins, people of color, Asians and practically everything that is not white.
Trump is the president of "the 1/3" of Americans.
4
A stark fact: Donald Trump lacks compassion for other human beings.
He doesn't care about anyone unless they can help him get re-elected and feed his need for self aggrandizement.
Mr. Trump is not President of the United States, he is the perpetual candidate Donald Trump, billionaire and owner and user of 747's on the never ending campaign trail.
If you, as human being and viewer, cannot help him get reelected to continue his television reality show of the dismemberment of an America he has no sense of belonging to, then he doesn't care one bit. You're a loser.
He has the vast constitutional power of the Presidency yet lacks the wisdom and compassion to successfully shoulder the burden of the office for anything other than another rally or expensive junket.
No wringing of hands and tears from this Republican President! No agonizing over what the people will think!
And yet, Donald Trump can drop the BIG ONE and skitters around the issue with obliqueness and threats the likes of which no President has ever said.
Kennedy spoke of Peace. Trump speaks openly of destroying nations.
The last time such threats as Donald Trump made at the United Nations, Nikita Khrushchev was banging his shoe on the desk and threatening to bury people-- a necessity he was well acquainted with having been Commissar during the battle at Stalingrad.
Ominously, Mr. Trump loves dancing a jig around the issue-- "You know what this is..., the calm before the storm,,, you'll find out..."
5
When this creep is called out publicly his vindictiveness has no end... hurting millions of people because he was insulted publicly .. Obama, Mayor of San Juan, Mr Kelly & Mr Tillerson don't hold your breath ....
2
Trump's probationary period is over.
He has shown himself to be what he was all his life, a thin skinned fool without an ounce of empathy for America or Americans. He is bent on erasing Obama's good works and replacing them with fakes of little value and turmoil which will cost America for years after he is gone.
It is time for him to either leave the stage or be dragged off it.
The GOP owns him and every day they subject the world to his insecurity fits is going to cost them in the polls, a little more than a year away.
Tick, tock...
6
Trump and his congressional enablers are evil, greedy, selfish people, while
his supporters are mostly pathetic dupes who continue to allow their racism and xenophobia to be used by right wing politicians. These pathetic citizens of mostly red states are among those who would be hurt most by Trumpism.
Sad.
1
I've lived through a lot of tragic and challenging American history in my 66 years but 2017 has seemed a decade long. Every time I think Trump and his administration must have hit bottom, they continue digging into the abyss that has become this country. I don't whether I am more ashamed or furious at what we Americans--either by voting or not voting--have done to ourselves. I do not know or understand the almost 40 percent of my fellow Americans who support this man and his dangerous antics. I do not know or understand Republicans in Congress who seem to privately hate what is going on but will do nothing to stop it because they like the total power they have right now. I do not know, nor do I want to know, my fellow Americans who are racists, bigots, neo-Nazis, KKK members. I do not know my fellow Americans who are standing by watching while Puerto Rico fails and dies.
5
Why should Trump care for Puerto Ricans? Their island is not a state, and they don't vote for President.
When I lived in New York in the early sixties and the ealry seventies, any non-black non-Hispanic New Yorker would have told you that the bottom of the social totem pole was occupied by the blacks and next up were the Puerto Ricans, ergo racism as Krugman asserts. No, they were not Norwegians and my best mountain biking buddy in Nepal was Norwegian.
Think of all this as an early Christmas gift from the Trumps to the base. And let's throw in a nuclear Iran as the bow on the package.
1
Trump is a stone cold racist, a white supremacist not even attempting to hide it, and millions upon millions of his supporters are the same.
Nothing will change this, nothing.
2
I used to be a news junkie, but lately I fear turning on my radio or opening the Times home page...what fresh new horror will Trump bring us today? He is on a mission to undo every federal program/regulation/law designed to protect our health and well-being (EPA regulations, health insurance, tax policy, etc.). When will it stop?!
2
Oh Lord, bless this Bounty these people are about to receive via jump shot. But hurry up, we can't keep FEMA here forever, we have to focus on America...
Kinda sums up Trump's passing interest and time on the ground in a place where he can't get any electoral votes and therefore could care less. Interesting that the "businessman" with multiple bankruptcies to his name and a reputation for sticking it to contractors would ever bring up Puerto Rico's debt problems.
1
Once again Trump shows his blatant ugly prejudices. He could care less about “those people”. He grew up looking down on them, seeing them as inferior. As much as I love NYC I know there are plenty of rich New Yorkers who distain Puerto Ricans. Trump is despicable.
2
Dr Krugman,
Puerto Rico natives don't look like white nationalists. That is all the reason you need these days.
3
Trump is a slum-lord, a con-artist, and a showman. He is sleazy not spiritual. He is chaotic not competent. He is our president and everyday is worse than the day before it.
2
Why would anyone be surprised at Trump's attitude and actions toward Puerto Rico? It's full of the brown-skinned Hispanic people he and his vile "base" loathe and despise. He and his followers are hoping the whole island will self-destruct. His worshipers adore him for the very same things that horrify decent human beings: his blaming of the Puerto Ricans for their own tragedy, and his open, sadistic pleasure in inflicting still more pain and suffering on people who have already suffered staggering losses.
Ironically, this refusal to provide adequate aid is triggering a mass migration of Spanish speaking people to the mainland of the U.S. And these citizens will be destitute, having lost most of their wordily goods. Those anti-immigration and racist Trump supporters may get an unintended result from their cruel and moronic president.
1
Mr Krugman encapsulates "our" problem: Reality "doesn’t fit the official story line". Now the disconnect is so clear! We are living "The Trump Story". It's all in the script; and Trump inherited another mess, a nation of terrible actors.
So, hurricane relief efforts are, fun-duh-mentality speaking, campaign venues - but with REAL people! First responders, so great; local officials, so thankful.
And Mr Krugman clues us in - about what WaPo rediscovered, "The Trump Story" is about .. think! .. you-know-who's? .. victory. Remember?
Who got something done, when everyone said it couldn't be done? .. The people of Puerto Rico .. No. No! Stuh-dee the script people!
Roll credits.
Sean Hannity - Mr Ratings So High, Our Military Played "Retreat" For Him. Mike Huckabee - Best Cheer: “You were a rockstar in Puerto Rico".
Donald Trump - The Creator of Fake.
TRUMP Made his racist viewpoint excruciatingly clear when he said that at Charlottesville, there were very fine people on both sides. He went on to say that if the news reported accurately, they would characterize the situation in that town as he did. Hinting that if he had stronger powers as a dictator, he would suppress information unfavorable to the KKK, NRA, Neo Nazis, David Duke and White Supremacist hate groups. Birds of a feather...
2
"... the Trump administration seems increasingly to see this tragedy as a public relations issue, something to be spun ...", just like they see everything else.
Trump, while in Puerto Rico, compared the impact of Maria there with that of Katrina in 2005, and cited the much lower death toll (so far) for Maria. True, except that the great majority of deaths in Katrina were not from wind, rain or storm surge, They were man-made, caused by failures of the levee system, a Corps of Engineers design.
Compare the US response to relief in Haiti after the earthquake in 2010 and you see the astonishing lack of support for US citizens as compared with Creole-speaking black Haitians. And the response of a real president compared to a #FakePresident. Millions of citizens are just not a priority for him. Again.
Trump feels no shame, about this or anything else. Sad. Mr. President, to quote BIll Belichick, "Do Your Job!"
2
My question is why didn't one of the people in the crowd throw a roll back at this dullard?
1
The Trump Doctrine:
1) If Obama was for it, he's against it.
2) If Obama did it, he'll undo it.
3) Wave a Big Stick and Tweet Loudly.
4) Always ask: what would a white nationalist do?
5) When attacked, hit back twice as hard.
6) Trump first, suckers last.
3
trump land - if you ain't white you ain't right.
this is how they think and feel.
just ask'em.
1
I meant "leader of the free world" in my comment to Christine!
The pseudo-presidemtial dude is a sociopath. What do people not get about sociopaths? They have no empathy. They don't know they have absolutely no empathy.
1
What can I possibly do, silently apologize for this mans heartless words and actions again?
Throwing paper towels to a group of human beings who have lost everything to something they had no control over.
This heinous act of his says to me...... "Let them eat cake"
1
No Trump Hotel in Puerto Rico.
The Trump golf course went belly up (but he's still the greatest businessman and wheeler-dealer in history!).
And you think he'd rush to put the power of the United States to work to help Puerto Rico?
1
The problem in Puerto Rico goes back to outsiders telling them that the answer to their problems was to sell their farms.Then you have financial advisers setting up loans from vulture capitalists who are banking on you failing. They may as well of borrowed from loan sharks who then have someone break your legs so you can`t work or pay back the loan so they can force another loan on you. Eventually the whole island will be owned by a group of financial leeches in NYC. They will build Great Golden beach front hotels and all the native residents will be employed as housekeepers. It follows the the old Bankers Creed, whats yours should be mine.
1
Trump is taking a knee on Puerto Rican aid---it is his way of showing how real American make America great again.
This president is so deceiving to us and to himself, so fixated on his ratings and reviews, and imagines himself the forever victim. He's unable to seriously study a topic or employ any thoughtful level of problem-solving because his emotions are in sustained chaos. He can't let a single perceived slight go.
Concentrating on "who said what, who wrote what" threatens his self concept. No way can he get through a day without creating drama and a new crisis.
It's likely the reason he does not sleep. It accounts for the enormous staff turnover, and inability to successfully work with Congress. As well as the leaks from within the White House which appear to be daily.
1
"And the Trump administration seems increasingly to see this tragedy as a public relations issue, something to be spun — partly by blaming the victims — rather than as an urgent problem to be solved."
But are YOU not doing the same thing? As " something to be spun — partly by blaming Donald Trump — rather than as an urgent problem to be solved"?
Trump WENT to Puerto Rico. Did YOU?
1
Yes. He went there, threw paper at people and left.
Did you go to Puerto Rico?
No, me neither but my tax dollars did.
Trump doesn't pay taxes so even his tax dollars
didn't get there.
However our tax dollars went to fly him down there
to throw paper at people who had lost everything
in a hurricane.
That's what I call deplorable /and despicable .
2
What could be the possible difference between the Americans Trump wants to help in Florida and Texas and those in PR that he doesn’t? Race and the fact that Puerto Ricans can’t (and probably wouldn’t) vote for him. Everyone who voted for this selfish racist should be deeply ashamed.
1
My question to Paul is if Puerto Rico is no enamored with being part of the USA and all its benefits, including the right to vote in US elections, why in 1996 was the winner of the Miss Universe pageant Miss Puerto Rico and not Miss USA?
It is enough to break one's heart that our nation has come to this: stiffing the needy and aiding the greedy.
Whom does this benefit? Whom does this harm?
Is there a "here's why" that shows the compassion of our nation lost somewhere in those blond hairs?
Are there still Americans who believe that all human life is precious? Is there anyone in power who advocates truth and justice? Did they not study history? Like How our aiding Europe and Asia and African and Latin America stabilized the world in those dark times, brought back jobs, provided medical care to all who'd suffered without caveat?
Tell me who this benefits, Mr. Trump. Please tell me it isn't your pocket who is being padded and ours whiled that of those now suffering in Puerto Rico is being picked gleefully, and those roll of paper towels isn't an act of cruelty.
Toss me Donald Trump. I stand 5'6" not 6'6. But I'll teach him a lesson he'll never, ever, forget.
2
Trump's evisceration of as much of the Affordable Care Act as possible is also an appeal to racism, because it appeals to the reaction against Obama.
1
Back in the days of travesties past, days when our government seemed to moving toward a ditch or revealed itself to have already landed in one, it all unfolded slowly and for the most part it tended to be largely one dimensional. Now, in our Days of Trump, all of our past stains and problems have shown themselves to be smaller or, at least, slower potatoes. Where does one find an analog? The Civil War? Historically, our biggest problem, but it took decades to ripen. No, the Days of Trump are unfolding in Twitter Time (a new measurement of time and space for the internet age). Can Trump really be this evil, this mentally ill, or this stupifyingly dumb? Quite a trifecta to be sure. Can he really twitter us into WWIII? Perhaps he truly is the Manchurian Candidate? Putin's puppet? It seems to me this might explain it, but wherever the hand on his strings rests, we know there must be a controller. No one as obviously clueless as Trump could constantly gravitate to the most harmful actions, those most unerringly inconsistent with every aspiration of our Country's “Better Angels”. Apart from the enormous hole he will leave in our National and likely the World's well being, my biggest fear is that he is controlled simply by the warped desires and racist hatreds of “his base”. If so, the cause is truly lost.
1
Trump is taking out his hatred for the Mayor of San Juan, who had the audacity to criticize him for coming to Puerto Rico for what amounted to a pathetic photo op of the President of the United States tossing paper towels to a crowd of outstretched arms.
As we know from health care and environmental rules, vengeance is mine, sayeth the Don.
1
Trump's failure of leadership is now obvious.
"Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, who is widely credited with turning around the Bush administration’s sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina has said the Trump administration has underutilized the military, exacerbating the slow delivery of aid and the removal of debris. General Honoré said that by this point, he would have moved 50,000 troops to Puerto Rico." https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/us/puerto-rico-aid-fema-maria.html
“Oxfam has monitored the response in Puerto Rico closely, and we are outraged at the slow and inadequate response the US Government has mounted in Puerto Rico,” Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, said. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-oxfam-puer...
“The Trump administration was slow off the mark,” said Rep. Darren Soto (D), the first Florida lawmaker of Puerto Rican descent elected to Congress. . . We’ve invaded small countries faster than we’ve been helping American citizens in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lost-weekend-how-trumps-time-at-...
6
If Trump had lived in the Age of Dante, it's hard to guess to which ring of the Inferno the poet would have consigned him. There doesn't see to be sin he has or won't commit, up to and including the crime for which Judas, Brutus and Cassius, betrayers of their benefactors, found themselves being mawed by Satan, the greatest of the great betrayers. There isn't anyone Trump won't betray!
1
To quote Trump exactly, he said, "They had these beautiful, soft towels. Very good towels," that he threw into the crowd.
Those are HIS words. These were off-brand PAPER towels, and anyone who uses off-brand paper products know that these are rougher and scratchier than premium PAPER towels.
He left out the word "paper" when talking to Huckabee, and he exaggerated the quality of the towels. We all saw the videotape. These were not "beautiful soft" towels.
Who do we believe? Him or our lying eyes?
This pathetic man lies about everything, big and small. This never stops, and it never will. Let him tell his lies as a private citizen, not as our president, not anymore.
I have no choice but to question the sanity of anyone who can't admit there is something very wrong with him. This must stop.
If you are reading this, but remaining silent, you are complicit.
16
Elections matter. Instead of wailing about the GOP, it is time to act with a fierce urgency to save the Republic. If you are not registered to vote in 2018, have not donated or volunteered for the Dem candidate, if you do not support voter registration efforts in swing states...then these are crocodile tears.
Every sane person must register to vote, and show up on election day to vote to restore sanity to America.
10
Please repeat after me: We are all 'Iowans' now. We are all Puerto Ricans now. We are all Californians now. We are all Floridians now. We are all Texans now. We are all U.S. Virgin Islanders now.
A natural disaster is an indiscriminate violator of mankind's puny conciets: decrepit or state of the art electrical systems, rich or poor, mighty or powerless.
Shame on you who offer life-saving aid prequalified by moral judgment.
3
If you're against Trump vote Democrat for every single office on the ballot. I don't care if the republican is you kid's godfather and plays Santa Claus, vote straight Democrat
13
If the Democrats were really all that much better they wouldn't have had Hillary as their candidate for President.
1
Trump is simply a terrible person; just an awful, awful man. Those of us who didn't vote for him knew what he was about, of course, so it should come as no surprise. But the extent of his willingness to be insensitive and unsympathetic - the sheer malice involved with being that way - is truly a wonder to behold in 21st Century America.
Our moral leadership in the world is regressing more and more each day. And to think we've still got another three (possibly seven) years to go with this guy; there's a vast amount of damage he can, and very likely will, do while he's in the Oval Office.
3
One of the most disgusting sights I have ever seen is on the front page of the NYT's. Trump and his team, including Mr Christian himself, applauding Trump as he, piece by piece, destroy's civil life in America. His actions on the ACA alone will kill people, many will be his supporters. PR is just more evidence of his racism.
All those people have government provide health care, we pay for it. Where is the GOP?
6
Why should we let this clown of a president destroy the very foundation of democracy. We let him in and we can show him the door. Not Congress or the Senate or the courts; just us, the voting public. Before overreacting; as Democrats and independents promise each other you will Vote in 2018 and 2020. You may not have your health care for a while but we can get it all back.
4
The end of America.... Sad! And the biggest problem we face is football players kneeling at the National Anthem...or so Tweets Trump.
9
Why can't FEMA, the military and first responders remain in Puerto Rico forever?
Unlike Japan, Germany, South Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan, Puerto Rico is an American territory and Puerto Ricans are American citizens.
Trump would want the Puerto Ricans to have much more than paper towels if they were ethnic Slavic communist atheist Czech and Slovenian models like the cat fighting "first ladies" Ivana and Melania with their broken English among them. The lady mayor of San Juan is clearly not Donnie's type. Perhaps some really smart Puerto Ricans can offer Trump a young blonde blue-eyed broken English beauty queen model maiden to mate and/or marry.
4
"Unlike Japan, Germany, South Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan, Puerto Rico is an American territory and Puerto Ricans are American citizens."
Well, not totally. They can travel to the United States without a passport, but they cannot vote in federal elections and have no voice in Congress. They also don't pay any federal income taxes. The only logical solution to this is to make Puerto Rico the 51st state, but Puerto Rico doesn't want to...I wonder why.
Not to take away from the tragedy in Puerto Rico but Puerto Ricans are Caucasian so when you say "race" I'm not sure what you mean. When I see the NYTimes do this I can't help but wonder where we've gotten to that a paper of the Times stature doesn't even understand the difference between race and ethnicity.
Perhaps if the media stopped pretending that "brown" people aren't white then maybe the racist fringe might stop acting like they are some other alien species.
Ethnicity is a choice. Race is not. Where I a Black person it would infuriate me that one of the worlds most read newspapers equates a battle that my people have waged for centuries because of what we are with a group of white people of European decent who live in a certain way.
Et tu, DR Krugman?
1
Oh for heavens sake!
O COURSE Dr Krugman understands the difference between ethnicity and race!
But here in America it's common to just refer to different races!
Just as we say "here in America" when we are actually the United States of America!
Focus on what is important here!
3
I doubt Professor Krugman has any clue about the logistics involved in getting relief to an island that is 1,000 miles away from Miami. The U.S. has not and will not abandon Puerto Rico, despite the inflammatory language from the esteemed economics professor. If Paul thinks he can manage the situation any better, he should take a leave of absence and offer his services to FEMA or the Red Cross.
1
Just for the record.
It's not Professor Krugman who doesn't have "any clue about the logistics in getting relief to an island 1,00 miles away from Miami" -- it's Donald Trump.
Inflammatory language?
It's trump tweeting vindictive dribble to the mayor of
San Juan .
@N.Smith: "Just for the record. It's not Professor Krugman who doesn't have "any clue about the logistics in getting relief to an island 1,00 miles away from Miami" -- it's Donald Trump."
Just for the record, I don't expect Donald Trump nor any other president to personally know how to handle the logistics of disaster relief. Presidents have people below them (military and civilians) to handle that. If you can provide any evidence that a Democratic administration would be far ahead of the progress achieved at this point, please state you case.
The Republican party has become quite simply evil--worse than amoral, now out to do positive harm. They could only prove me wrong by impeaching this monster. No finer spin needed, going forward.
4
Close, but German is the background to which Trump feels connectrion, not Norwegian.
It might be nice to know who those smiling people are who are in the room with the flying towels.
2
The Puerto Rico that President Trump saw during his four-hour visit on Tuesday afternoon was that of Angel Pérez Otero, the mayor of Guaynabo, a wealthy San Juan suburb known for its amenity-driven gated communities that was largely spared when Hurricane Maria hit nearly two weeks ago
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2017/10/4/1704134/-Trump-passed-up-the-re...
From a political standpoint, Trump is reinforcing the support of his base. Most are racists and Puerto Rican is just slang for lazy. Also, most would be shocked to learn the Puerto Rico is actually part of the USA (more Fake News). As far as sabotaging the ACA, any effect on his supporters he will blame on Obama and the Democrats. This is a double win for Trump, no matter what he does, he will spin any dire consequence as someone else's fault, or be able to sell it as a positive. He will sell it to his base, and they will glagly pay to buy it.
1
It would be nice if writers such as you who wish to share their serious concerns about the need for relief efforts do not start out with a joke as a way to compare a territory of the US to a state in the US. It is in poor taste and when readers have less time to read critical news articles due to working and paying for such relief efforts through their tax earnings, NYT editors should remind their writers such as you to place such comparison deeper into the article's argument after facts are presented first. Although it is recognized as only an "Opinion" article of NYT, it seems disingenuous to make such jokes anyway. Since people's lives are at stake, according the other news on this disaster relief effort, one's time could be better spent on reading each word and opinion on the subject as serious and sober ones.
It wasn't a joke.
It was an allegory, a comparison.
Why all this anger at Dr Krugman??
1
But the paper towels were undoubtedly high-fiber. Unlike the moral fiber of our "president," which is non-existent.
There's no question that he's on the attack against anyone who doesn't come from his brand of ethnicity. He clearly had zero negative feelings about the Nazi flag being the focal point of parades in our country, not very far from our capital. Didn't disturb him at all. That's as scary to me as just about everything else he's said or done.
In Trump World, neither global warming storms or Puerto Rican American citizens exist. Must be very difficult for him to deal with both simultaneously.
For my entire life, whenever I thought of the office of the President of the United States - and the traits held by the person elected to that office - I would conjure words such as vision, leadership, empathy, integrity (among many others).
Never in my wildest nightmares did it occur to me that our commander in chief would embody primary traits such as pettiness, vindictiveness, thoughtlessness, misogyny, discrimination and sexual predation (among many others).
Yet here we are. Our president is a dismantler, an un-builder, a divider and a destroyer. And he disassembles with no plan for how to improve or rebuild. And with no apparent thought for We The People.
1
The contrast between Trump's abominable attitude toward the Americans of Puerto Rico and his eager pledges of support to those of Texas and Florida in their respective hours of distress is due to a perfect storm of motives: political calculation and racial prejudice.
2
What about the US Virgin Islands? Colonization has its consequences. That is, unless you can just blame them for being raped, plundered and disenfranchised. Great strategy.
"Muslims will not replace us." Latinos are increasingly seen as a front for Muslims. Whites tend to be seen by whites as their best, as POC tend to be seen as their maddest & worst.
The white victims of white corporate and 1%er mafia boss greed
are clearly folding for that mafia in meek deference and are going
instead after their (incoming) fellow victims of a different color, smell,
sound and quaint, unsettling cultural customs, poised to stubbornly stick
to those alien customs with the help of satellite and internet shielding. "From behind my beard or weirdo cloth/veil, I'm disturbing the peace of your street feel." So white Americans moved quickly to preventively spook 'n trump them right back out of immediate vicinity.
Edsall pointed out last week how significant recent immigration has been in the Midwest. There´s the shock wave that the vivid imagery of one million refugees simply walking over the German border caused. The core E.U., under Merkel's leadership, has outsourced inhumanitarian measures to Hungary, Turkey now, to halt it. The latter gets paid 6 billion to enforce cruelty. How is that different from what Trump or even his Deporter-in-Chief predecessor want? They're roughly all acting the same way, leaving the vast majority of refugees with no options, only Trump announces it breast-thumping, so he gets the relieved vote.
The economic bloodbath Trump is also creating will materialize
later, now you do the voter math for 2020. We'll all eat paper towels.
Voters have no one to blame but themselves.
1
I am shocked, shocked to discover that the people of Puerto Rico are neither impressed nor appreciative of the president's fine paper towel foul shooting form. We need no SNL spoofing of this president. He's doing a fine job as the world's biggest clown all by himself. Imagine, JFK, FDR, Reagan visiting a storm ravaged country and coming to its rescue by throwing paper towels. Welcome to the world of the absurd! I hear that Bounty is considering signing up Trump to join their team.
Puerto Ricans are simply another minority population that Trump and his ilk have zero regard — possibly hatred — for. Can it be that those who voted for him feel the same? I think so. Some months ago, speaking with someone who voted for him, I mentioned the racist tone of almost everything he’d been doing and wondered how anyone could support such flagrant discrimination. The response? “I guess that makes me a racist.”
All NY Times readers / late night show hosts are wasting your breath with your anti Trump opinions. I live in upstate New York where nary a single person has taken their "Trump for President" sign off their lawns or bumpers. He will be a two term president and have his face on the 5, 10 and 20 dollar bills before he is is done.
2
That is hardly a reason for one to stop "wasting" their breath.
Another thing.
You and your upstate ilk still only represent the minority of American voters.
Get used to it.
"have his face on the 5, 10 and 20 dollar bills before he is is done."
And that's a good thing?
It's absolutely amazing! It's as if every time 45 needs to make a decision he ALWAYS chooses the most gawd awful, inhuman thing possible!
He picks the cruelest, meanest, most tawdry behavior! And if he can stick it to Obama--all the better!
45 HATES his elegant, athletically fit. articulate, smooth predecessor with a passion! And he will destroy millions of his own supporters for ANY chance to obliterate the name Obama.
45 could reduce the taxes of New York's top socialites and they STILL wouldn't be caught dead at a Met gala with him.
45 is a loser and he's going to take us all down with him. He's a horrible example of a man much less "leader of the free world."
He is undoing 70 years of American leadership in a global economy by undoing NAFTA, TPP, NATO.
I'm a Vietnam Vet. My spouse and dad are buried at Arlington. I work w little pay as an MD in underserved areas.
Why?? It all means NOTHING!
3
Race. Race. Race. Race forms the core of DJT’s thoughts (I’m assuming he has some) and actions. He is the near voice of the distant Orval Faubeses, Ross Barnetts, Strom Thurmonds, George Wallaces, .... Their day has come. God help the Republic.
Each day, Trump provides proof as to why he shouldn't be president, and his base (which includes Fox News) loves it. They can't see how they are daily being duped by a demagogue. I don't blame his base - they can't help it. They simply don't know any better. However, there are those in congress and other responsible positions that do see what a disaster this president is, but for their own personal interests openly support him anyhow. Trump can't help how he is. He's seventy years old, and what you see is what you get. Those who blindly support Trump, on the other hand, should not be let off lightly.
See:
RevolutionOfReason.com
TheRogueRevolutionist.com
1
Have you noticed how the more Trump ramps up his destruction of the social safety, the bigger his signature gets on the executive orders he signs to do so?
1
The focus is on the lives lost in Puerto Rico due to lack of attention and emergency mismanagement, however lives will also be lost due to Trump's insistence on ruining the Affordable Care Act, and lives will be lost in any confrontation with North Korea, which could become a nuclear conflict. This man in the White House is clearly unfit, and his narcissistic personality disorder leaves him without empathy. The 25th amendment should be invoked before more people are lost as a result of Trump's racism, general ignorance and complete lack of caring.
1
OK. The Puerto Rico presidential approach sounds like a race issue but on the other hand, Trump is taking away health care from many "working-class non-Hispanic whites". Those two can be explained by understanding that somebody's greed can be greater than his racism. Do not forget that cutting healthcare subsidies will allow for cutting taxes for the president and his friends.
By the way, for Trumpism, Hispanic whites are not white and I am fine with it.
1
Was wondering when or if this piece would finally open for comments-- NYT... It takes the steely eye of Paul Krugman to cut through the you-know-what.
Tossing paper towels is about the only active participation Donald Trump can bring to the helping-table. This Administration has completely failed Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. "Who woulda thought a Hurricane required pre-planning ?" And here we are, several weeks later with nominal electricity and areas still without access to adequate supplies of water-- still sitting in bins and food rationed out in insufficient quantities. We have no leader or "generals" willing or capable of standing in the proverbial gap to -- on this, or any other needful matter.
"My Country tis of thee-- sweet land of Liberty..." is fast becoming a wasteland while we watch with eyes glazed over and helpless to alter the course: This is not how I imagined my "golden years" would be spent.
Considering most Americans don't know that Puerto Rico is an American territory -- let alone being able to find it on a map, it's not surprising that they, and this president, view it as some kind of third world bastion of poverty and crime undeserving of our compassion and support.
Oh, and they're brown, not white.... And they also speak Spanish.
Is the picture getting clearer yet?
Using the argument that "Corruption" is enough to keep them starving and in darkness, while threatening to cut off federal assistance, is not only inhuman, it is obscene -- especially when coming from a president who ran a campaign against foreigners, and who has shown a certain weakness for white supremacists.
The Paper-Towel-Toss did nothing to relieve this image.
If this country is wealthy enough to upgrade its military because we have a president who wants to start a war, it should be wealthy enough to help its own citizens first.
And yes, they are American citizens.
2
Barack Obama didn't even bother visiting the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. To Obama Rockaway was nothing but flyover country as Air Force One zoomed my devastated peninsula on its way to JFK. I thought it was a total disgrace that Obama would rather have photo ops with his new best friend Chris Christie in New Jersey than see to the needs of a devastated community.
But, alas, that's always been the curse of the Rockaways. We're too small and unimportant to attract any real attention. Not good enough, not smart enough, not pretty enough.
Our President doesn't realize that the heart was meant to more than just pump blood. Without exception, everything he is doing this week or plans on doing makes the lives of our neediest Americans more difficult and the world itself a less safe place. And its going to get worse as his base of support shrinks and he finds more draconian ways to shore up what is left of it. Shame on him, shame on those who were duped into thinking our scam artist in chief had their best interests in mind.
When I read the first lines about Iowa, I though it was a paper about the result of a Republican Administration.
"...what’s happening in Puerto Rico is utterly shameful. And everyone who enables the regime perpetuating this shame shares part of the guilt." Looking at you Republicans in Congress."
The disgrace that has descended upon the White House and our country has a name: Republican Party. And let's be clear, the name "Republican" has also been disgraced by its current generation of cultists; they should end their torture of the formerly honorable party name. Trump is a disaster, but he is their disaster, their instrument. To turn America back to the 19th Century.
Republicans yearn for an America of the 1800's. They nostalgically look backwards to a time when there were no unions, no labor laws, no Social Security, no Medicare, no care at all; the time when women were silent and obedient, blacks were uneducated and submissive, the time when America was great. According to Republicans.
Puerto Ricans are not part of America the Great. To Trump, they look like Mexicans and we know he believes Mexicans are rapists and drug dealers. Republicans don't want them to become a state; besides, it was not even owned by our country at the time America was great. Republicans acknowledge Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Only when pressed.
Most Americans are decent, charitable people who don't want America to return to the 19th Century. It is up to the real American people to save our Puerto Rican brothers. Because they and we cannot depend on Trump and his Republican brothers.
Another example of an impeachable offense - the failure of Trump to serve and protect US citizens. When will Congress act to get rid of this monster?
By giving Trump the lion's share of credit/blame for this approach, Krugman and others are effectively letting Republican leadership off the hook. Trump is an uninformed ignoramus whose interests are mainly in himself and his ratings, so the question is who is running the show behind the scenes.
To me, Trump's approach to Puerto Rico is a natural extension of the Republican agenda of lowering expectations on what gov't can do for people. While some Republicans might be more reluctant to be so explicit about their belief that gov't should not "punish" wealthy people by expecting them to help the less fortunate, even when that misfortune is clearly not of the people's doing, Trump seems to understand that helping people far from home, who speak a different language (and thus are not truly American) makes no sense to his base who have been expected to bear the brunt of catastrophes such as the housing crisis and diminished income and job security for decades, without any help from gov't.
Republicans claim to have solutions, but their solutions are always private sector ones, that don't involve taxes. When they talk about jobs, they mean private sector ones. What this means is that if the private sector doesn't see the value in investing, then that value doesn't exist. Trump did not come up with this idea, he is simply the first one to state it so nakedly. His enablers may cringe at his methods, but the agenda is theirs, not Trumps.
1
Where is the GOP in this? If this cavalier attitude and treatment had occurred during the Obama administration every one of them would have been screaming discrimination, lack of presidential gravitas, etc. I guess that only certain Americans are worth caring about and that category does not include Puerto Ricans, those in the US Virgin Islands, or anyone who is not white, male, and rich.
He'd be treating them better if this had happened in Scandinavia or some other country. "Let them eat cake" is nothing compared to the disgrace that Trump's treatment of these people has become. It's a travesty and a complete abdication of responsibility on his part, Pence's and the GOP. The only praise Trump deserves will come when he's forced out of the White House and into the obscurity he deserves: him, Pence and the rest of the GOP failures in this administration.
3
Loans instead of grants in order to pile up debt more. Puerto Ricans didn't vote for Trump and never will. Trump is forcing Puerto Rico into a NY-style real estate bankruptcy, write off all the debts and have a jolly tough time afterwards.
It's quite clear Trump has No Clue what to do or what is happening and that he is driven by a soul decay of racism. But let's consider him the Poster Bully and look at who is enabling him. Lot's of chatter this week about enablers so let's focus on the biggest enabler In Chief, General Kelly.
I know everyone is touting him as the medaled shield between order and chaos but he is actually not that nice. Don't forget that as head of Homeland he was more than happy to efficiently as possible direct ICE to start arresting brown people and the occasional mix up of legal/illegal never bothered him. In fact, crueler was better.
Fast forward to today and General Kelly controls the flow of information to the President. So what exactly is Kelly "allowing" Trump to read? What is he telling him? Does he tell Trump you are doing great therein ignoring the difficulties FEMA etc. are having in PR? Or is he joining with Trump, looking at the problems with the relief efforts, and saying "Who cares, we don't"!
Because with all of Gen. Kelly's supposed expertise, he could pick up the phone and get the ball rolling in 60 seconds and he has not done that. WHY? WHY?
It's not just Trump. The whole administration stinks of not caring, meaness and incompetence.
2
For a very long time, nobody has had to persuade me that Trump is a monster. I do want to know when are we going to start reporting and commenting on the complicity and indifference of Americans. We've dissected the media, the politics, and the personalities on all sides to a numbing degree (and we should continue), but the quiet accomplices of everyday Americans that are being mined by Trump for fuel and of which he still has been able to glean out and spark support for his continued reign should be explored as well. And the "supporters" are not just tiki torch bearers, they're the resigned.
Even now, in my first time comment on NYT, is this only a sign of my limp activism? Really the it seems it's the Americans that aren't so great...and we'll probably we eat the paper towels anyway...
1
So if a house in your town catches fire, the fire department should check whether the homeowners are current on their mortgage and their credit card debt before they fight the fire. Because if not then the homeowner contributed to their own conflagration by not being solvent. Makes sense. That Trump, he is a...what did Tillerson say he was?
1
Trump only cares about himself and his family. There is no doubt that he is a racist. But Puerto Rico voted down Statehood. At least some did this because they did not want to pay US income taxes. We need to help them as US citizens now, but they should realize that some of their problems are the results of their own actions
The thin silver lining of this crisis in Puerto Rico is the chance to lift the veil of 120 years of shameful inequality, racism, and economic suffocation wrought by U.S. colonialism in PR. Lots of smart things have been written in the last few weeks to educate people in the U.S. about the historical/political/economic context of the crisis -- see LatinoRebels.com for a clearninghouse of info and essays. Also this, by me: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/10/06/like-most-americans-trump-is...
I really don't think Trump understands that Puerto Ricans, and all Americans of US territories, are US citizens, with all rights guaranteed under the Constitution (which I do not think he has read).
I think he sees Puerto Ricans, who have one of the highest rates of serving in our military, as some Hispanic whatevers (that's Trump speak, SAD!).
I commend the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, for speaking out so strongly, and standing by her people. I saw her on CNN and MSNBC, and she looked utterly exhausted. Stand in there!
Puerto Rico is part of America's colonial empire. And that's how we treat them economically. They don't have any representation in the House of Reps or the Senate. But they do get taxed...up the yin/yang I believe is the correct description. Hey wait, taxation without representation? Where have I heard that? Whatever. Blame the victim.
1
I don't quite understand the water situation... altho I know everything seems to have to be transported by helicopter. This is also an example of a huge lack of readiness. Obviously, every person should have set aside at least five days or one weeks worth of water, canned food, etc. before hand. And the Jones act needs to be rescinded permanently by CONGRESS>
That said -- I think it's great to get rid of the Abominable Care Act. WE need Single Payer Universal. Enuff with the alligator tears for whom -- the insurance industry?? Forget Drumpf. Rule of LAW means CONGRESS HAS TO ACT.. AND WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE TWO YEAR TERMS.
The response by GWB to Katrina was a disaster. DJT's response to PR is outrageous.
Yet. Yet....37% of the population *still* thinks he's a very effective C-in-C.
God Bless America.
2
Let's be honest, this is all gonna go downhill from now on.
Wether American institutions will survive if this all goes to fascism is the question.
I've never known anyone who was robbed who accepted it so merrily. Nor have I ever known anyone to be called a liar and taken it so lightly.
From a very early age we are all conditioned to view robbing and lying as grounds for social banishment.
Yet here we have 60 million instances of people who are being robbed in the light of day by the very liar they so happily voted for ... A man who has robbed and lied for the greater part of 70 years no less !
And when the day dawns that these 60 million realize that they've been robbed, will they then lie to themselves once more?
Real simple - The Shyster-in-Chief is going to let the island fail until there's a mass exodus, at which point his real estate developer friends swoop in and buy the place for a song, and be praised as heroes for turning it into an American Cuba.
It looks like FEMA is blindly stumbling into another post Katrina cluster fandango (expletive bowdlerised). Unlike Katrina, deaths from malnutrition, waterborne diseases, and lack of vital medications are a real possibility as the neglect continues week upon week.
Florida bodes to be the destination for hundreds of thousands of Puerto Rican refugees and a firmly blue state for a long time to come.
I am sorry to see Puerto Ricans driven out of their cherished homes, but salute the poetic justice they will exact upon Trump and GOP once registered to vote in Florida.
Throwing paper towels to people who need disaster relief: just another day for Trump the draft dodger, tax non-payer, serial liar. Its a wonder that the people there didn't throw them back.
the treatment meted out this last 100 years to Puerto Rico is akin to the roll of paper hanging near one's toilet. the actual cardboard roller is Virgin Islands. that is the way this administration sees it's Caribbean commonwealths. i am so shamed by my country's leader.
1
From Trump's perspective, which is "what does this mean for me, Donald Trump," they're brown, they speak Spanish and their vote doesn't count, what's to lose?
1
Trump hates Spanish speakers, he will do as little as he can for PR. He is destroying NAFTA - but really he is just dropping Mexico and keeping Canada. His racism is unbelievably offensive. Other world leaders should just ignore him until his behavior improves.
People just don't get it. He doesn't care. He will walk away from it all richer. He has no morals. And he's crazy too. That's just the way it is. Nuclear war, he's in the bunker with food and water. Climate change, hey he'll be dead. Healthcare, he's got it for himself. Puerto Rico, no hotel there. He just doesn't care.
397
The bunker may save him from instant death, but it won't save him from the lingering radiation and the total devastation.
Yes but since Trump is the one and only Article II executive office President of the United States that we have in our divided limited power republic what are our legislators, courts and the American people going to do and agree upon?
1
Brilliant. Your note should be read by everyone.
Has anyone heard from the eight billionaires with a net worth of three & a half billion+ people ? Snowed under with all their pet projects I suppose. Insanity reigns.
2
President Trumpy is inept, incompetent, and ignorant. He is deliberately harming the citizens of this country because he has no empathy for anyone. Anyone looking for a helping hand from Trumpy can expect none. He is dismantling government by deregulation leaving people without a government the people have constructed over hundreds of years. Anyone expecting government services can in the near future expect to do without. Less government means that you will pay more in the near future for the little you do have.
2
Regarding the eminent death of many people in PR and many more if Trump gets his way against a former president that has more ccompasson on his pinky fingernail than Trump has had in his whole life (aka Mr. Negative), I decree that President should be given an executive orser to cease and desist his hate-spewing madness or be charged with murder due to negligence or due to war crimes against humanity.
1
Ther president's words are a crying shame. If he follows through and pulls the hurricane relief resources out of Puerto Rico it will be a crime.
1
I can't get the picture out of my mind of Obama visiting New Jersey with Chris Christi after that horrible storm. He walked through the devastation; he spoke with the victims one on one and hugged and comforted them Cynically, maybe it was just good optics but it beats throwing rolls of paper towels at them.
221
OH yeah back the Paul krugman didn’t think much of obama..
1
And you may remember, too, Janet, that Christie paid a heavy price for his bipartisan photo-op; Republicans (and likely Trump voters) excoriated the governor for "consorting with the enemy."
For the life of me I can't fathom how Republicans reconcile their own political beliefs with the American spirit.
1
Obama is/was in his right mind, unlike Trump. We're all looking for the humane side of Trump, but it seems to just not be there.,.
1
The worst thing is of course what is happening there in Puerto Rico. The second worst thing is what it says about this country. We say he has his 40%. That 40% is half (50%!) or more of the white population.
If there is one thin, thin silver lining on Trump it this: naive white people like me who thought that hard-core racism was down to maybe 10-15% percent of the population have learned that what the black people have been saying that we have not been hearing or not believing is absolutely true: most white people are still racists and not even trying to be otherwise.
220
This should hang around his neck like Katrina did for W. Trumpy, you're doing a heck of a job.
3
This President is an idiot, Professor. We have to stop obsessing over him and stop attributing cause to his idiocies.
The cause is simple : He doesn't care.
I started out with an open mind and was sad to see that those who called him out, like Mitt Romney, were right.
Opposing him on his cruelties is the right way forward. What the US Strategic Forces will do when called upon to use the nuclear option is a worry.
But de-constructing the man's actions is a waste of time. He is the President, and we give him his due respect. But the man is an idiot, and we have to guard against his menaces.
Get off the subject Professor, it's a waste of time.
And the presidential bullying goes on...and on...
Great job, Republicans! More and more voters
are making note of your moronic enabling.
2
You forget so let me remind you people of Puerto Rico are the wrong skin color, mostly brown or non white Hispanic. That alone disqualifies them from receiving the same benefits as lily white Iowans, pure bred on white bread. Why is it so hard to say the truth? That non white lives are just not worth the same as white Christian lives. It’s not shameful because you know it is their blessed karma that people are born “white”, into privilege, the rest of us live on toilet paper rolls (kitchen towel rolls bring a notch up the privilege ladder).
2
The pattern continues. Poor whites voted for him and he is taking away their healthcare. Hispanics voted for him and he sends a dozen paper towel rolls and ICE agents instead of help, blacks get praise for white nationalists, people who breathe voted for him and he guts the EPA yet the GOP stands with him.
1
"Puerto Rico is responsible for its own disaster, and he has systematically denigrated the efforts of its people to take care of one another."
Donald Trump lives in his own imaginary world. He's out of touch with reality. Before long he may do something horrific. We can only HOPE that he won't be allowed to nuke any place.
I wonder was he elected to end the human civilization as we know it, as a divine punishment? Punishment, for mismanaging all the gifts almighty provided to us humans?
Insanity of one or 2 citizens can be managed. But Trump's deceptive insanity masquerading as charm, charisma in a single individual with so much power may ruin everything. Look what Hitler did? He ended the lives of 50 million humans, about single-handedly in his pursuit for personal and tribal glory, racial grandiosity! True, one day all of us will die. But does it have to be that horrifically, as Hitler did? Or Stalin, Mao & Pol Pot did?
Before it is too late, Trump should stopped by available legal means.
5
In as much as we are in the throes of kaliyuga, the golden age or satya yuga is just around the corner. Its for each of us to transform ourselves from kaliyuga residents to satya yuga residents by ushering in the satya yuga, no waiting for a kalki to deliver us from Trump like monsters. Is within each of us. Do not wander lost in doubt and delusion.
Iowa is flat; Puerto Rico is mountainous.
There is a special place in the afterlife for people like Donald Trump.
1
Puerto Ricans vote Republican, right? Cuz they hate Castro right?
Donald Trump and his ridiculous family must be made to live in the most devastated sections of Puerto Rico, living in the same dire circumstances as the local residents. As a consequence of their horrific characters, they should be forced to fetch water using only their stupid golden golf trophy.
2
The article title is worth my subscription to the Times
Trump didn't do much for Texas, in the wake of Harvey; should be have been expected to do any different, or better for Puerto Rico?
......And, I don't recall hearing anything about the U.S Virgin Islands, either.
But, what should we expect from a narcissistic, sociopath, who is also an incompetent idiot?
Please PR: move to Florida and vote, Vote, VOTE the Trump bums out!
2
Haile Selassie used the same trick, Once a year he rode around in his vehicle, tossing coins to Ethiooians. "See how they love me?" he crowed to his staff. The poor man was last seen cowering in something ike a shower stall in the basement of his palace, not knowing that worse was yet to come in the shape of Mengistu Haile Mariam.
Indeed it does, "... take[s] a special kind of evil to let 3.5 million people be forced to drink contaminated streams just because you hate Hispanics and to kill healthcare for 20 million lower income Americans because you hate Barack Obama" and that evil is called, crimes against humanity. No one seems to remember that this "person" with a silver spoon grew up in a time of great discrimination and hate against Puerto Ricans in NYC. Let them eat paper towels is an understatement; it is more like, "let them have cholera." Next, and very shortly the silver spoon will revoke the territorial status and their 100 years of citizenship.
2
Trump is a disgrace...period. He is a failure as a president and a human being.
Krugman is doing what he does best.
Making no actual point, making no actual useful suggestions, painting false narratives, and just plain lying.
Let's put him on a plane and send him to California, where he can tell the fire victims that they just need to suck it up, because FEMA is busy on a multi-decade rebuilding project in Puerto Rico and doesn't have the resources to do anything at home, where the taxes come from.
Then off to Texas for the flood victims. And all the other disaster victims as well.
Smug, disingenuous, little people with access to editorial space, do us no particular good.
1
Ayn Rand victims lovers do not recover.
Thank you for making my point about smug.
ObjectivISM is the Rand philosophy.
An ObjectivIST is one who looks at facts, evaluates facts, and analyzes facts,, facts dispassionately - with no predisposed conclusion.
That leaves YOU out.
Also, I really couldn't care less whether you buy into Rand's theories or not, but if that's all you've got then just stop typing until you have something constructive to say.
The misattribution of the original quote to Marie Antoinette aside, Trump obviously hasn't bought a roll of Bounty lately. But neither, apparently, has Krugman.
1
A monster has been elected.
1
His priorities are clear. In Texas he was seen serving food and letting people know that the Federal Government would be there for as long as was needed. In PR he waited days to go and didn't have a photo op with anyone and told then the the Federal Government would not be there for much longer. The difference is that people in Texas can vote and those in PR can not. Perhaps he also believes that the people of PR are "bad hombres."
1
We should call ourselves the United States of Despair.
1
This is the Untied States racing each other to open fracture.
Lin Manuel Miranda, you could do it. You could rap Mr.Crump right into the ground, and he'd need a roll of those paper towels he was hurling, to clean himself up...
Seriously, if people start dying of cholera or starvation in Puerto Rico (I hope it isn't so), then mean old Mr.Crump has a problem. Americans won't stand for that (the decent ones --and most of us are decent people) will get angry, real angry. Even Mr. Crump might feel the wrath.
I don't understand why Paul Krugman would point to a fictional catastrophe in Iowa, when there are so many real catastrophes to look at. Compare Puerto Rico's post-storm state of despair to the singed optimism of Norther California in the fires. Look at how New Orleans was treated in Katrina, versus how New York was taken care of in Sandy.
.
Heck look at Houston during and after Harvey: look at the well off, whiter areas versus the poorer, blacker ones.
1
This is disgusting and sickening. Please, use all my taxes for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. We don't need another aircaft carrier.
Trump is destroying us.
1
It's interesting how he has totally ignored expressing concern about the fires in California. Think he would ignore it if the fires were in Florida? Arkansas? Ohio?? It isn't just about race. He leaves anyone who dared vote against him out to dry. Think he cares if the west coast gets nuked?? This evil man needs to be shown the door before his fragile ego destroys us.
1
He of course does lack empathy but it's really more simple than that. He's starring in his own reality show. It's not fun and ratings will go down unless he's mean to somebody. Puerto Rico, NFL/black people and immigrants are all worthy targets for his base/ratings. The man cares about only one thing...himself and how he thinks he's perceived by others.
Who will rid us of this tyrant?
What the media is not reporting is martial law is still in effect throughout Puerto Rico- Local gangs are commandeering aid vehicles and looting remains rampant. The U.S. needs to cut this one loose and let them go it alone- the Mayor of San Juan keeps beating around the bush on this topic - she wants U.S. Money and an open border- but wants to reserve the island for "her people." Put up or shut up! We need to start deporting people who don't respect this country.
2
They are American citizens.
1
@Fabi
Not really..
Puerto Ricans can travel, live, move, work, reside, etc. without limits between the two countries. No visa or passport is needed. Puerto Rico residents are required to pay U.S. federal taxes such as import/export tax, federal commodity taxes, and federal payroll taxes such as Social Security and Medicare.
1
I am very impressed how MSM has been completely incapable of countering
the administration line. The muffled agony and congressional indifference
is quite remarkable. This is a good measure how far down the
rabbit hole mainstream institutions have fallen. Few who hold
positions of authority in public or private sectors have articulated their thorough disgust at the utter collapse in this, that is, our government's responsibility.
More to the point, it is a very precise measure how cowered the majority party in congress is at the perceived ability to retaliate by the eight year old
in power. The image of the paper towel stunt should have nauseated
enough people that they'd actually publicly articulate their disgust
with forceful and graphic language. But instead the image of
the flung items became yet another type of dog whistle to the
core group of white fan boys and girls who probably collectively just giggled at the obscenity of it all while waiting for the hated elites to give them
another useless lecture at how it seemed so unamerican.
Only a uniformly loud NO that aims to discredit the amoral monstrosity
that the WH has now morphed into can suffice. Instead the dissembling
continues, the pitiful levels of aid are heralded as heroic by those who
know better and too few citizens seem to know how to react...
"Unsure" is a word for this time that seems destined to become our epitaph.
It speaks of an emotional paralysis that "fake news" screeching has created.
The White House has gone hyper-moral. That speech he just gave to "values voters" suggests that his narcissism has grown to the point of apotheosis.
One may only assume that the fact our esteemed President did not eat a towel roll coming back at him on a short, tight arc is a tribute to whoever did the screening to crowd the room with a credulous, exhausted bunch of refugees.
It’s both race and the fact that Puerto Rican’s living on the island can’t vote in federal elections!
2
As someone commented about an hour ago, what about the Virgin Islands? As bad as he is regarding Puerto Rico, he is even worse regarding the Virgin Islands.
2
Puerto Rico's forests were stripped by Maria's winds. Much of the island's drinking water was filtered through the rain forest. When the rains come, there will be nothing to absorb and retain the water. The soils will be washed down the mountainsides. Mudslides and floods are going to further decimate infrastructure and homes. Lives will be lost. There will be insufficient drinking water. The people will not be able to afford bottled water at twice the price as the mainland. Thanks to the Jones Act. Thanks to the man who could suspend it. Thanks to the congress who could repeal it. Thanks to the greed of corporate ship owners. Thanks to the voters who keep sending the same clowns back to Washington. They may be Americans, but their skin is too brown, Spanish is their prevalent language, and they have no voting representation. Why have so many of them served in the U.S. military? Why have so many died for America? Is this what they deserve? If America was being run like a business, the CEO would be sacked. Our leader is a traitor to the American people. He should be jailed. LOCK HIM UP.
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Earlier this morning, I submitted a comment on Paul Krugman’s column about the malfeasance of Donald Trump in Puerto Rico. I stand by that comment, not yet posted, but it is worth noting – without diminishing the tragedy facing our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico – that the blatant, autocratic gutting of Obamacare by Donald Trump yesterday will cost the lives of tens of thousands of Americans. Both actions are the product of an ignorant, vindictive bigot whose fragile ego and instability should set off an alarm for all thinking Americans.
2
Trump is a self-inflicted wound made possible by the minority of voters. The wound will surely prove to be fatal if treatment continues to be deferred. Do we need any more prophets (e.g. Senator Corker) predicting the coming disaster and wake us up?
2
Trump is only interested in places that voted for him so that leaves Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and California out of luck.
Trump plays to and caters to his base base (not a typo) and may the devil take the hindmost.
A truly detestable man.
2
Trump doesn’t care about Puerto Rico because Puerto Rican citizens do not vote in Federal elections. They are all going to move to the mainland (legally!) and help vote this monster out of office.
1
After three strong hurricanes in U.S. territory, savage fires in California, and a powerful earthquake in Mexico, we cannot tell that this is a lucky year. We are hearing also the drums of war with North Korea, and now the ACA is at the verge of disappearing. Therefore We the old and poor people will not be able to get healthcare when Alzheimer, Parkinson, Cancer and other all age diseases arrive to our bodies. Just to mention a few negative situations, including cyber security, DACA, the wall, and global warming.
Ah, but we still have the music, and we can remember how was America Before 2017: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/2/#inbox/15f1370e9c8d23e1?projector=1
More progressive pulp fiction from Krugman.
You can't seriously think that somehow Iowa and PR are equivalent, the only difference being race. Really?
In case you can't use google maps, let me remind you that PR is an island several 100 miles away. And let me remind that Florida and Texas have huge minority populations & that didn't stop Trump from providing support.
No one disagrees PR needs help. They are getting it & will get more. But PK is merely trying to sell a partisan narrative. Progressives want every natural disaster to make Trump look bad.
Any honest assessment of the situation would agree PR had deep financial and infrastructure probs long before Maria or Trump. There was corruption by officials and failure to upgrade the electric grid or to prepare for major hurricanes -- which have repeatedly hit Puerto Rico.
When Harvey drowned half of Texas, the good news was not all of Texas was badly hit, most roads were open and many parts of Houston hadn't flooded. People were able to get supplies in quickly, neighbors and first responders were able to help quickly. The cajun navy was able to spring into action from LA.
But PR has been wiped out & it's very difficult for people to get there to help. And the roads are not very usable so distribution has been very difficult. Under any circumstances or presidents, PR will take a long time to rebuild. That has nothing to do with Trump.
Not buying your pulp.
1
Puerto rico took Krugman's advice and borrowed "cheap " money nd then blew it as governments do with inefficiency, corruption and incompetence. A year ago they defaulted on their government guaranteed bonds leaving many, including me, holding the bag. I sold out with a 50% loss, but now if FEMA gives them more loans they cannot pay, the people who financed Puerto Rico electricity, water, buildings etc. will get nothing. What is shameful is Krugman's advice and opinion that debt doesn't matter when we all see how wrong he really is. Puerto Rico can't pay back FEMA nor its bond holders because debt destroyed them, so what does Krugman advise? more debt!! Remind me never to believe a word Krugman says or writes!!!
1
Why waste American bounty on Puerto Rico when you can just throw paper towels brand named Bounty at them. In Trump world, it's the manipulation of reality that counts, not actual reality. In his mind, he went there, so it's over. Done. What else do you want?
1
It is another 4 letter word: Vote.
PR doesn’t have any Senators, voting representatives and hence no electoral college votes.
Why should the President or the Congress care? Nothing in it for them.
After the Puerto Rico debacle, the Dreamers backtracking (and again the border wall), criticizing the Sec. of State about Korea, threatening the Iran nuclear pact, threats against NBC, the NFL silliness, and now (again) the Affordable Care Act, we can state unequivocally that we have a rogue president, a demented demagogue. This hasn't happened since Nixon. The near-term question is how to rope him off doing more damage, as some of his cabinet members are trying to do with Korea. Congressional Republican have to be concerned, if only because he may hurt their reelection chances. But a determination of non compos mentis is sorely needed.
Every Latino, every minority, every poor person needs to look at what is happening here. You have been thrown away as a voter. The GOP establishment doesn't value you, they don't care about you, they actively work against you. If you vote for them, you are deliberately voting against your own interest. The ramifications of their choices, including Donald Trump, will be economically devastating to you, the country and the world. Vote them out.
1
For starters, we could take the Equifax CEO's $90 million payout that his board generously lavished on him for failing to protect the personal financial records of 150 million Americans and direct that money to go to Puerto Rico hurricane relief instead.
212
We should add in the millions of taxpayer funds that go to the Con Artist in Chief's organization in payment for the endless week-ends, nights and golf games at his family owned resort businesses. The taxpayers get to pay HIM for HIS green fees. And then there are the emoluments that foreigners pay to many of those same businesses that profit the Con Artist in Chief, and all to garner favor with him. I thought the W administration looked corrupt enough with Cheney-insprired government "contracting." But this crowd takes self-dealing to all new heights!
Whoa--let's not be so quick to play the race card.
The majority of Trump supporters don't know that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. or that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. (Or that a big chunk of the pharmaceuticals they consume come from Puerto Rico, for that matter).
So I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, and view Trump merely as playing up ignorant jingoism for political gain (rather than necessarily stoking a racist core of his base).
"But let’s be fair: Trump is also working as you read this to destroy health care for millions of other Americans"
Krugman perpetrates the lie that health insurance = health care. And anyone who sits around waiting for the federal government to help is in for a very long wait.
"What we’re actually witnessing, in effect, is the betrayal and abandonment of three and a half million of our own people."
Look at this through the eyes of Trump, the Republican Party, and rural white Americans living in states. Puerto Ricans do not vote, and if they did, they wouldn't vote for Trump. Thus, they are expendable. Now, give us some more farm welfare entitlements.
1
Mr Krugman:
We know you are familiar with the USVI. Gov. Mapp of the USVI just asked the Feds to help us with $5B. What are the chances we will get anything remotely close to that ask?
This is a chance to show the world how the United States can, by its example and with its help, take a second-world area and make it truly first-world. Put in state-of-the-art infrastructure. Make Puerto Rico the jewel of the Caribbean. This would increase our world influence far more than pulverizing Afghanistan or Syria.
And take away the stupid Trump restrictions on contraception.
Considering that often times you have to hit rock bottom before progress can be made, we can all thank The Donald for his ability to drag us to the bottom so fast on many fronts.
Looking at this through a racial lens brings focus. Trump has a history multi-decade history of racist behavior. His comments and behavior in Puerto Rico fit into this despicable pattern of treating non-whites badly.
4
What was that Republican idea, Nation building.
Trump seemingly committed that he is going to build second Haiti out of Puerto Rico.
We have that bright president. this time is not some foreign land like middle east, it is here on our land.
I hope all 3.5M American citizens of Puerto Rico will strategically move to swing states on mainland USA and turn the tide in the next elections!
4
The Trump administration is deficit in so many ways it's hard to know where to begin. The outrageous comments Trump utters about Puerto Rico and our fellow Americans residing there is indicative of a man utterly without redeeming qualities...both as a human being or as a chief executive of the "richest nation on earth". As this story plays out, more people will die and many others suffer for months for no logical reason. An indication of what kind of "leaders" we have now, if we needed it, was the picture taken yesterday in the White House as Trump signs a presidential order eliminating insurance subsidies for the poor while the pack of smiling toadies behind him smiled and clapped. This is how the rest of the world sees us today...a reflection of the ugliest American of them all.
It's getting hard to handle the outrage fatigue, but Resistance is NOT Futile!
Can we get enough moderate Republicans to invoke the 25th? Because clearly number 45 is unfit for office...
He's also inconsistent and short-sighted, even by his own standards. Helping Puerto Rico would presumably help keep thousands or even millions of Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico. (And what is this deal about foreign cargo not being allowed to land in P.R.? Sounds like old fashioned colonialism.)
The oligarchs are pushing America into a Hunger Games reality. It is already happening all around the country. Take a drive anywhere in rural America or urban areas with large minority communities and you will see what I mean. Race plays a role as does poverty. The oligarchs desire a population that is poor and trapped in a life where there is no escape. Shantytowns will be good enough. Hunger will be part of the fabric everyday life. Let them eat paper towels - indeed!
Trump is an ignorant malicious racist. A true triple threat who "excels" in each area, but there is an underlying logic that can be used to tease out his motives:
1. Never attribute to Trump's stupidity that which is adequately explained by his generalized malice.
2. Never attribute to Trump's generalized malice that which is adequately explained by his racism
Trump's comments on Puerto Rico? Racism.
Trump's efforts to destroy health care for millions of Americans? Malice.
Simple rules for a simply horrible man.
3
Cuba was also hit by a Category 5 Hurricane (Irma), but has restored electricity to most of the island. There was never a question about helping. The socialist government went immediately to the aid of its citizens. I served in the military with many Puerto Ricans and to see them having to beg for help is a disgrace to our country.
5
Earth to Media
Let's be clear. As with the ending of the cost sharing, these
people do NOT care who they hurt. Lying incompetence
and cruelty are their stock in trade.
I am surprised Trump did not give paper towels to
the wounded in Vegas to soak up the blood.
Time for media to stop playing along.
The photo of the President of the United States tossing relief supplies was embarrassing. This behavior diminished the tremendous effort being made to rescue the people of Puerto Rico from a devastating, extremely powerful hurricane. Conditions there are simply horrible and I hope that our society is sensitive to the needs of those people and in unity treat this for what it is: an extremely urgent & tragic situation.
I was disturbed as soon as we knew that this record breaking storm was headed for Puerto Rico. We needed to mobilize our military forces to move to the islands, hospital ships, helicopter carriers, advance base equipment that we have stored for transport to disaster zones. Fuel, water, diesel electric generators etc. We have this stuff, we have people trained to use it and all that needs to be done if for the Commander and Chief to just ask.
I was shocked by the tardiness of the response The effort being made, now, is appreciated but we could have responded 5 days earlier. Everyone in the Navy knows it.
Given what we know about the probabilities of very foul weather and wildfires due to the warming oceans, it is clear to me that our electric power infrastructure needs hardening.
The world is not ready for its climate change future, we must invest in hardening and protecting our vital infrastructure in vulnerable coastal cities from high winds, flooding and ocean surges. We need sea walls, and protected water, sewage & electric power plants.
1
As President Entropy demonstrated throughout his business career, it is easier to destroy that it is to build up or even maintain. It seems to be all he knows so he is sticking with it.
1
I try to understand, but I cannot. How can a man be so evil? How can so many of his followers be so hateful? I am in despair and doing as much service to my community as I can, in an attempt to offset the depression I feel from every single day's news.
If our so-called pres is such a business man, a builder, then why can't he just get to it and re-build PR? Heck, throw out some serious gov't cash to his family and friends for all I care. Just HELP PUERTO RICO!
1
As a major player in the media blackout of Mr. Sanders, you have played a major role in the fate of PR.
Perhaps next time you plot to circumvent the democratic process you will reconsider.
Every day I am sickened by what this man says and does. Where are the checks and balances that were supposedly written into the Constitution? We have a Congress that watches from the sidelines as Trump is destroying all the safeguards. His discriminatory behavior towsrds Puerto Rico is insane. These are people in need. If there is such a thing as a bad seed, this man is the epitome.
So, Trump can't keep FEMA personnel in Puerto Rico for more than 90 days, but can keep military troops in Afghanistan indefinitely (16 years and counting)?
3
It's remarkable just how far Trump has truly descended since that day in June 2015 when he rode his golden escalator down to the main floor of his golden tower, his face the hue of a young Oompla-Loompa, and announced his candidacy. What's devastating is seeing just how fragile our system of democracy really is, how much freedom a President actually has, and how much of our elections have been stolen by the GOP every single election year via gerrymandering and voter ID laws.
We're to the point that Trump's literally threatening to abandon Americans in crisis because, well, he's tired of playing Emergency President right now and wants to return to a more fun game. Puerto Ricans don't vote in the general elections any way, so what do they have to offer him that he wants? Nothing. And a few committed the unforgivable sin of criticizing him, so the entire island could sink to the bottom of the ocean for all he cares.
And every day, since the early morning hours of November 10th, as more outrageous words and actions spew from the wrecking ball in the Oval Office, I wonder how much more of this we'll have to endure. Can we actually bounce back from all of this?
2
Hopefully the devastation in Puerto Rico will result in a great migration north to the southern US States, particularly Florida altering the political landscape turning Red States Blue.
2
Mr Krugman
The Trump regime's total abandonment of the Puerto Rican population speaks is the best bit of promotion for those oft-derided preppers. Stocking up on gear, food, medicine, and setting up a shelter for whatever disaster may loom ahead -- these are all very commonsensical moves in light of the government's utter hostility towards helping American citizens. When disaster strikes, you can only count on yourself.
So maybe after after enough red state inhabitants lose their health care they'll see Trump for what he really is. Something us New Yorker's have always known. In the meantime the taxes imposed on the wealthy to pay for Obamacare continue so the GOP can't go back to their wealthy masters and say, "look at how much we saved you". Trump and the GOP will have angered their wealthy masters and their dirt poor supporters.
Enforcement of the Jones Act, especially by Republican fans of the Holy Free Market, is just another example of rampant hypocrisy in government.
3
We are in the movie "Ground Hog Day". Everyday, Trump does something mean spirited and demeaning, to some faction of Americans. Everyday begins with feelings of despair. Earlier this week, it was Puerto Rico. Today, we will all be harmed, if he decertifies the Iran agreement. Trump doesn't really care about any of us. He throws "red meat" to his base because they provide his "fix" of adulation. Every decision is about him and disgracefully, the Republicans in Congress are enabling this ugliness.
259
Who is "us" and who is "we" in contrast to who is "them" and who is "they" matters most to the perceptions of all persons in our partisan political gridlock divided limited power republic.
1
I hope the resilient people of Puerto Rico will rise to the occasion, help yourself, fight the adversity as much as you can, and show the world what you are made of.
Very often people rise from adversity and fall in complacency.
Yes, Paul, we here in Iowa are white and of northern European descent. And we are increasingly Republican. Extra bonus points: we speak English, a language with which the president has a fitful relationship, but at least serves as a starting point for communications. Our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico would be well-advised to adopt twonof those three identifiers, which may qualify them for the mere contempt we Iowans currently “enjoy” from this administration (see Renewable Fuels Standards and Clean Power Plan) instead of the outright derision they currently suffer.
The best hope for Puerto Rico is for people to leave the island en mass, and move to an area where their votes might cause a change in congress.
5
FEMA has sent massive amounts of supplies to Puerto Rico. The island presents a unique problem because of poor infrastructure, largely because they adopted Krugman endorsed disastrous economic policies that have left its citizens impoverished. Sadly, Puerto Rico is experiencing a humanitarian tragedy that will require continued support from both the government and private organizations. Media hacks looking to score politic points aren't helping. Of course, leftists believe President Obama would have gone to Puerto Rico prior to Maria making landfall and then would have proceeded to stop the Hurricane with his sheer awesomeness. The rest of us have to solve a problem in the real world.
1
It's Krugman's fault? That's a novel take on the lagging Puerto Rico recovery.
You write, "The rest of us have to solve a problem in the real world." It would be interesting to see what real world solutions you and your fellow Trump supporters propose, besides of course the Puerto-Ricans-need-to-take-care-of-themselves solution. Republicans are in charge of Congress and the Executive now, aren't they? What are you real-world guys doing to fix this problem?
In contrast to you, I wonder whether poor infrastructure is responsible for the poor performance of the federal government to the disaster: FEMA disaster response teams having a Spa Day, FEMA maintaining that it is not their "job" to distribute food and water, the USNS Comfort (with 1000 beds, 12 operating rooms, etc.) caring for only 8 (!!) patients right now after one week in port while Puerto Ricans are dying from water-borne illnesses, etc.
Like Krugman, I wonder whether what FEMA, the National Guard, and the military would be doing if 84% of Iowans were without power after a natural disaster, with impassable roads and upwards of 50% of Iowans without gasoline and potable water. Would Republicans be offering bromides like "Iowans need to take care of themselves" and "Iowa only has itself to blame for poor infrastructure"?
1
Thank you for keeping this in the news. GW was slow to respond to Katrina but at least eventually he tried to do the right thing. Somewhere in the man there was a conscience that our current president doesn't seem to have. I did joke after Harvey and Irma that thank God they were states that voted for him, what if it had been Massachusetts? But I also knew like most jokes about Trump it's terrifyingly true. Now Puerto Rico. I worry that if Katrina happened now we would be treated just the same, after all we took down our Confederate statues..
3
The solution seems simple - PR takes all the loans they can get then uses Trump’s approach to refuse to pay more than 5 cents in the dollar or go bankrupt.
3
Yes, the four-letter word, race, is at play but I think there is a 3-letter word and a 5-letter word being used in the back rooms of the White House. O-I-L and
P-R-O-F-I-T
Puerto Rico has oil and will need money for rebuilding. Hmmm.. who in the White House could make money from those two businesses? What about the friend's of the White House?
Donald J Chaos & Co. are racist and inept. Trump voters have foisted a vile human being on us all. This is a man with no moral compass and little empathy. He is so selfish that unless there is something in it for himself, he makes little effort. Though a businessman, he has never managed a large company. The Trump organization is not very large. He has always been an autocrat and has brought his high-handed kingly approach to the highest position in our republic. Puerto Rican leaders had the gall to appeal for help directly to anyone who would listen. While the economy there was in bad shape, the storm was responsible for wiping away most of the infrastructure of the island. This is not a dire situation of their own making and it is cruel to suggest it is their own fault. Muellers team cannot work fast enough for me.
3
I'm sure that FEMA and other aid sources are working diligently but it seems that coordination is woefully lacking. For example, the US hospital ship Comfort (finally) is docked at San Juan with hundreds of beds and a staff of 800; there are a staggering 8 patients. Meanwhile, San Juan hospitals have been limping along and are slowly getting back on line. Wouldn't a highly efficient coordinator have said, "bring all San Juan patients onto the USNS Comfort while ALL hospitals are put back in top operating order; ditto for dialysis centers." That would take the burden off local infrastructure and allow it to be rebuilt fully and then take back the patients. Why is that such a challenge? I heard yesterday that a lead doctor in the aid effort resigned in disgust after she observed that aid staff had taken a "spa day" with manicures and pedicures in the triage tents. Is that possible? The sense of entitlement that so infects the WH seems to have burbled downhill to the aid workers. I know that many remained in the trenches working but what kind of signal does that send to local Puerto Ricans who are suffering water-borne diseases while those tasked with helping them are lounging out of sight while their nails dry?
Puerto Rico deserves so much better than they are getting!
1
I can't imagine the superhuman effort it must have taken to keep someone in that crowd from lobbing one of those rolls of towels right back.
3
Progressive billionaires like George Soros, together with the help of the Democratic Party, need to step in and offer relocation assistance to our fellow citizens who live in PR. Just think what a million or so newly relocated citizens, motivated to punish Trump and his amoral Republican enablers in Congress, and spread out in key swing districts across the US, could do for this country!.
Its very strange to not see military helicopters and soldiers delivering all the supplies that are needed in rural areas, as well as evacuating the sick.
1
Trump’s dismissive condescending non-caring attitude to Puerto Rico is abominable. But how come no one has remarked on his complete failure to even acknowledge the horrendous suffering in California with wildfires destroying lives and neighborhoods and livelihoods – more than two dozen deaths and not a peep or a tweet from this monster. Could it be that the worst wildfires in California’s history – predicted by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy as a consequence of climate change – is further evidence of how criminal the actions of Trump and EPA Destroyer Scott Pruitt are in gleefully overturning Obama’s Clean Power Plan just this week, his promise to unleash renewed focus on coal and away from clean renewable sources like wind and solar power, on top of pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement? What it is is a clear example of Trump using the resources of the nation to reward his supporters (Texas, Florida, Louisiana) and punishing opponents (California) and those he demeans as “others” (Puerto Rico) – a violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the Hatch Act.
3
The more racist, the more irrational, the bigger, and bizarre(r) bully that trump appears, the more many of his supporters, uh, support him.
I'd bet on Tillerson for measurable IQ, but trump has a remarkable predatory genius. I thank the stars I've only encountered such a person once in my seventy years.
Our country needs to be protected from him, and his supporters must be rescued from their restless dream.
2
Kelly's bland defense of Trump's latest spiteful effort to make health insurance worse was the nadir of the day.
President Trump the head of the Republican party, the party of I've got mine and I want even more. Trump doesn't even know the word empathy, after all he's a man that was born at home plate and thinks he hit a home run. Puerto Ricans don't vote in presidential elections so he doesn't care about them and even if they could vote, hopefully they would never vote for this bloviator in chief. Hopefully, in the next election in 2018 Puerto Ricans and Hispanics citizens living in the continental US will come out and vote against Trump and his recking crew Republican party.
1
The hypocrisy is breathtaking. DJT says after 3 weeks that FEMA can't provide services to Puerto Rico forever, completely ignoring the fact that 12 *years* after Katrina FEMA is still providing services in Louisiana. The difference is this: "those people" are the folks who mow the lawns and serve drinks at Trump's resorts, they're not real Americans. The color of their skin doesn't even have to be mentioned, everyone knows what he means. And anyway, they're probably just looking for an excuse to come to the US and get on welfare, right?
160
Almost right. The folk serving drinks and manning the desks at Trump resorts tend to be guest visa workers from the Balkan area - white women working for low pay, blue eyed, fair skinned. And if the conditions or pay are not to their liking, their visas don't permit them to find another employer.
Unfortunately Trump isn't ignoring FEMA's Katrina effort, he is simply ignorant of the facts.
It is very simple to understand why Trump is dismissive of Puerto Ricans and their plight....he can't absorb them into his voting base. The hurricane disaster through the Caribbean could have been an opportunity for Trump to show leadership, compassion and give him an international victory. However, beyond photo ops and carefully edited video clips for PR value, his contribution has been worse than negligible. PEOPLE ARE DYING for lack of potable water. Yes water....the one thing that keeps all animal life alive. The blood of each and every victim who has to resort to contaminated stream water and and contract the leptospirosis is solely on Trump's hands. The full count (many areas are still isolated, so full damage has not yet been reported) could be far greater than those who were killed by the murderer in Las Vegas. Trump may yet become the nation's worst mass killing monster. Water should have been the FIRST relief item...delivered by parachutes if no other access was available. Supposedly no water to is availabe...shelves are bare. But there IS a hospital ship in the harbor that can create drinking water -- the staff and 8 patients hardly can use it all. Millions of bottles are on the shelves of mainland stores that could be shipped within hours to the island. That FEMA and relief workers plan spa days because they have nothing to do speaks volumes about the inefficiency and neglect by Trump. Shame and more shame. Perhaps even criminal accountability.
9
Ever since the hurricane hit Puerto Rico I was afraid of this! Look at what our European allies did for their hurricane-ravaged territories in the Caribbean and then look at the US response! Tons of food and water and medical supplies rotting in port because no one has been organized to move them. People dying from drinking polluted ground water when a medical ship capable of purifying water and handling hundreds of patients sitting offshore doing nothing.
Puerto Rico is full of low income brown people who can't vote for Trump or the GOP so who cares, right?
Answer: we all should care because, first, these are people in extreme need. Second, they are U.S. citizens. France and Britain have no responsibility for their welfare. We do!
So what do we call a national leader who ignores these people?
Krugman's answer is, sadly, the accurate one.
But we knew that.
207
Not all Puerto Ricans are brown nor poor nor speak Spanish. Some are as white and rich and English speaking as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
1
Iowa != Puerto Rico. Your premise is fallacious. Other than that, you wasted a lot of words belaboring a point that any Cub Scout could point out: Trump should not have free-thrown paper towels ... and there should not have been anyone in the audience to rebound tem ... but there were ... and they did. I was so thrilled to see Thaler awarded the Nobel this week; perhaps economics will return to reality and begin to once again contribute to society after its long absence.
I hazard a guess the Iowa "analogy" went over your head, it's not a "premise" but more of a thought experiment to mention it the way that he did.
You missed Krugman's point, or deliberately distorted it, and then conveniently ignore the the main thrust of his article. way to go.
Mark,
Even a thought experiment needs to be constrained to a consistent, even if loopy, frame of reference. The only consistent frame of reference I see in this editorial is that the author is among the hundreds of millions of Americans who think that Trump is a crass and unworthy occupant of the office of the Presidency. As I said, the talents of a Cub Scout would be severely underutilized in making that observation.
And, of course, there is the far less worthy issue of racializing this issue with references to Iowa and Norwegians ... or was that "the point" you were referring to?
Spoken like a Trump voter with some degree of buyer's remorse?
I'm happy to explain it, The thought experiment is constrained around skin color, Iowans by and large are white, PR is largely brown. got it now?
Discussing how emergency aid is not distributed equally (and the messaging around the aid) to brown skinned citizens as it is to largely white skinned citizens is not "racializing" it's stating the obvious.
Did you read to the end of the article? Krugman sums it up for you. "I wouldn’t go so far as to call him an equal-opportunity monster — he clearly has a special animus toward minorities — but his self-centeredness and complete lack of empathy extend quite widely."
Puerto Rico is America's Crown Colony. It is governed as such. It is treated as such, and the outcomes are the same as it was for the colonies of the European empires of years past - horrors for the people who live there.
But Puerto Rico's situation is also made even worse by a transition of the United States government over the past half-century or so. The United States now suffers under a "government of the people, by wealthy corporations, for the wealthy corporations." It has apparently long forgotten its obligations to its _human_ citizens. And we are now feeling the effects.
That whole ethos precipitated the election of Mr. Trump. He deceived the public into thinking that he - a beneficiary of government of the people, by the wealthy corporations, for the wealthy corporations - was their only salvation. Now the world knows, too late.
To President Lincoln's despair, government of the people, by the people, for the people /has/ perished from the Earth. Puerto Rico is an object example of the consequences of this.
Mr. Trump's behaviour and his racist contempt for the Puerto Ricans, and Americans of a darker skin colour compounds the effect of America's 'New Government' by orders of magnitude.
5
So let me see if I understand this...without help from the mainland, our fellow citizens living in Puerto Rico can expect to be wiped out, for good, when the next storm hits, that is if they are lucky enough to make it to the next storm? Isn't that what we're watching? Isn't that Trump's, plan? What an awful, disturbing time in America.
4
But what do we do? Most of the people who need to read this won't. And if they do, it will be a story about "immigrants" or people of color, which they don't care about or they wouldn't have voted for Trump in the first place. How do we make them care?
2
Trump's treatment of Puerto Rico tops my very long list of all the horrible things he has done thus far. His open disregard and neglect of Puerto Ricans because they are Hispanic and can't vote is so despicable that this act alone should prompt efforts to remove him. And I agree with Dr. Krugman that any individual who is enabling Trump to get away with this is as guilty as he is.
5
I don't know the date when it will be "enough" for the 25 amendment to be invoked or for the impeachment trial to reach the obvious conclusion. The U.S. will never be great with Trump at the helm........but I do know that America will survive Trump's presidency, such as it is. We will all survive this awful, embarrassing and poor excuse for a presidency. He must leave the office. And then we can begin to heal and move forward....
1
Very simple. Puerto Rico citizens cannot vote in presidential elections, Texas and Florida can. It’s all about pandering to the base. Nixon showed the way.
4
As a 76 year-old, I share Kathryn's despair. Under this monstrous president and his many sycophantic enablers, we're losing so many of the qualities that DID make us great; among them, generosity, caring, sympathy and empathy.
Puerto Rico was a "spoils of war" in the Spanish-American War of 1898 (a shameless land grab), and had Colin Powell been around then he would've noted: "You break it, you own it." Regardless of the niceties of bureaucratic language, PR is a dependent territory of the United States.
The island is governed by Washington, D.C., all those niceties aside. We "own it". But in the mind of Trump, there's a difference between the U.S. citizens of Texas and Florida, and those of Puerto Rico. The former deserve the full generosity of the U.S. The latter, well... there's a "difference".
No there isn't! Trump's is a 19th century attitude.
The "citizens" of Texas were being mistreated by the Mexican government over a land dispute? Declare war! Which we did. (Another shameless land grab.) But today, the citizens of PR are experiencing the near destruction of their homeland... so toss them some paper towels and accuse them of "mismanagement".
There's a demented monster in the White House. I'm glad I'm old. I'm glad I have no grandchildren.
My poor country.
3
I am in deep despair about the future of our nation with the racist Republican party in so much power right now.
I don't see the GOP doing anything for the good of our country, they are pleased to let fellow Americans die from disaster or health problems, and they might just rather blow up the entire world than admit they are horribly wrong and backward about nearly everything.
Expecting Pence, the Cabinet, or the GOP-led Congress to rescue us from Trump seems hopeless at this point.
4
Maybe its time for Puerto Rico, and all US Territories, to start paying Federal Income Tax. As American citizens they need to support the very government they rely on.
1
Unlike Pumpkinhead?
1
Maybe they should also get to vote then too? That's likely at the core of Trump's thinking, they aren't going to vote for him, so why should he care?
1
...and maybe it's time for Puerto Rico to have two Senators and a bunch of Representatives voting in the House too? As American citizens, they need to have a voice in the very government they support.
1
I agree. At this point there is a stark and sad truth. There is no avoiding it. If you support Donald Trump then you are a racist.
I’ve looked at this from every angle and I’ve tried to find a way of mitigating it such that the people I know who unbelievably still support the man might not be branded with the title. But it just cannot be.
Donald Trump has not just engaged in the usual Republican dog whistle tactics. He is unequivocally empowering the racist fringe of this country. The evidence is thick and indisputable.
When I initially leveled my conclusions on the entire Republican Party it was pointed out to me that many Republicans do not fall into the category of “Trump supporter”.
Okay, that would be fantastic. But if that truly is the case then please let’s begin seeing that. If there is truly a distinction between Republicans and Trump loyalists then silence is not and will not be the catalyst for separation.
There are many valid Republican platforms. Trump embodies none of them and the Republican Party moves ever further from them when it remains silent in the face of his betrayal of the principles of this country and the tolerances that helped make us great.
If every Democrat turned out to vote... well I’m not even sure that would be enough and it certainly didn’t happen FOR Hillary and AGAINST the utter incompetence that is Trump, I fear that, as a country, we are at the mercy of the Republicans of good conscience to save us and their party.
1
Welcome to the nightmare otherwise known as the Oligarchy of the United States.
The rules of the new order are simple.
(1) Oligarchs will determine your status as either an asset or a liability.
(2) Liabilities will be eliminated.
(3) Assets will be exploited.
(4) Go to step (1) and repeat daily.
Lesson learned - don't be a liability (sick, poor, ....).
2
As one politician said about Trump's victim-blaming remarks about Puerto Rico, "It's sadistic." A civil society is based on both the "rule of law" (our Constitution) and a social compact ("government of the people, by the people and for the people"). But with Donald Trump this, like just about every other deal from the Paris climate accord to the Iran deal to Obamacare, is NO Deal he's willing or able to honor. Marie Antoinette famously said of the people, "Let the eat cake!" And the people responded by rising up and beheading her. Now it's Donald Trump implying "Let Them Eat Paper Towels." It's time for the people to rise up and say, "You're fired!"
3
Kathy Griffin had the right idea.
1
When it comes to letting the hurricane stricken areas ,Purtorico,The Islands ,etc. mostly recover two things are crucial: Time,i.e.,efficiency and cost.The most pressing need is renormalizing the various Infra-structures.Yes this major task needs Engineers and other technicians, but in order to restore things in the quickest possible time and with as less cost as possible a scientific insight has to be injected in accessible way so that the Engineers and technicians will be guided by it and that enables them to foresee the outcomes of their effort much better.Over a year before these natural disasters struck I have already prepared a Math App book Manuscript that in a fresh way exploits mathematical insight and techniques.In my comment on Prof PK's column I have mentioned that I wasn't sure how to get in touch with FEMA to lend my expertise in the form of a Workshop there to Engineers and other Technicians audience.This past Wednesday I got EMI's Fax # and faxed a letter expressing my desire and suggesting that a copy of my letter be directed to the new FEMA Administrator.The positive thing is that a pertinent scientific and other knowledge is out there, knowledge that greatly facilitates the restoration of The Puertoricans' and other worthy peoples' normal life.A good will, a commitment, open mindedness, collaboration and quick action is needed this is not something that should be politically manipulated,after all we are talking about an existential threat to millions.TMD.
I grew up in the same part of NYC as Trump - the borough of Queens during the same exact time period. The prevailing cultural stereotypes of the time put Blacks on the lowest rung of the social ladder and Puerto Ricans on the next rung up. Some of us grew up and learned to discount those derisive messages while some of us - like Trump - did not. Not only did he fully absorb the message he is now its messenger.
5
Puerto Rico should wipe out any doubt that Trump is eager to ignite the next civil war by vilifying Hispanic hurricane survivors solely to electrify his base. He already has white deplorable versus everyone else down pat. Likewise native born versus immigrant and ultra-rich versus just getting by.
In the morning he tosses Puerto Rica under the bus. In the afternoon he puts a match to health care by pitting those who are sick against those who aren't sick yet, a cynical variant of haves versus have nots, young versus older, unlucky versus lucky.
It's us versus them on steroids.
What was once truly exceptional -- one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all -- has been sliced and diced into antagonistic factions obsessed less with self-interest than the utter destruction of competing interests. It's a knife through the heart of democracy, the death knell of consensus and common ground.
Putin without firing a single ICBM has defeated America with his secret weapons, Trump and twitter. The penultimate weapon of mass stupidity.
James Baldwin warned of The Fire Next Time. He was wildly optimistic. It's upon us now. Raging through the Divisive States of Just Me and All Mine.
Trump has made what divides us larger and louder than what unites us.
We've moved way past damage control to political triage. Nothing matters now but 2018 or nothing that matters will be left.
2
Lack of empathy, using race to choose which side to help, hurting the victims who most need help, the list could go on. Thses don't sound like the actions of what one would expect of a President of a great nation but in the past a nation the US has called out for human rights violations. Any country that expects its own to suffer for any reason and makes sure they do, should be troubling to everyone.
Where are the great leaders in this country who are enabling this travesty?
The President bears the greatest burden of blame but so do Congress and his staff. Peoples lives are not games to play with in this tragic reality show that is happening.
2
To paraphrase a common election year query: "The question we should ask is ; are we better off than we were 10 months ago?"
1
Let's all remember Flint, Michigan as we examine our governments' (plural because the state government is the primary bad actor) racially motivated decision-making when our citizens lack basic necessities like clean water.
3
There’s some disingenuous ignorance going on about Puerto Rico here. Let’s remind people: Puerto Ricans have had five opportunities to vote unambiguously for statehood, and blown every one of those away. They don’t pay federal taxes. They have no say in federal governance. They’ve blown their budgets to the point of bankruptcy.
In short, they are second-class citizens, mostly of their own choice.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t empathize/help when they get hit with a life-changing weather event. But drawing the line and keeping expectations in check is good leadership, nothing else.
Maybe PR can vote to re-unite with Spain? In exchange for, err, Catalonia? Ok, not. But let’s all go easy on croc tears please. Puerto Rico ain’t Bangladesh.
32
"Let’s remind people: Puerto Ricans have had five opportunities to vote unambiguously for statehood, and blown every one of those away."
A lie. The last one they voted FOR statehood. It's true they have a very mixed record, but they have been political and military prisoners of various empires for a while, so it's understandable that they might hold some reservations in joining an explicitly racist union. Also, *they knew their votes didn't even matter* because conservative racists would never let them join.
So yeah, you are a liar, and are trying to shift the conversation. Stop lying.
4
@J C
23% turnout was the issue. Ambiguous, huh? I think so.
1
How is it "disingenuous ignorance" to believe that US citizens in PR should receive the same amount of aid that Iowans would get? Because they don't pay federal taxes? Is that the new litmus test? Are the the people that pay more federal taxes entitled to more government services? It sounds like Mnuchin's wife's reasoning for why it was ok for them to take a US jet to see the gold at Fort Knox, they paid so much in federal taxes that it was reasonable to expect free rides on publicly owned jets.
With 85% of the electrical grid destroyed, homes wrecked and unlivable your Bangladeshi comparison isn't far off.
5
Puerto Rico should follow the path of other colonized regions: 1. Declare independence. 2. Repudiate all public debt. 3. Seek emergency relief from other nations. (China will help.) 4. Build an infrastructure based on medical tourism, hoping to compete successfully for business from U.S. citizens. They can rent the doctors from Cuba while waiting for the repatriation of the island's native doctors. Oh--worried about foreign influence in the western hemisphere? Then perhaps we should try harder to help.
5
In light of the growing evidence to the contrary, I cannot accept the premise that Trump is faithfully executing the Office of the President of the United States.
8
Orange and Osceola counties, along the middle of the I-4 Corridor here in Florida, are a major migration destination for Puerto Ricans. And being US citizens, they can instantly register to vote. Puerto Rican newcomers to Florida heavily register Democrat.
In the past 13 months, the Democratic registration growth has outpaced Republican growth, 7.7 percent to 3.6 percent in Orange, and 7.1 percent to 2.7 percent in Osceola. In numbers, the Democrats have picked up 16645 in Orange and 4475 in Osceola, a total of 21120, or 19 percent of Trump's victory margin in Florida last year.
Much of that migration was associated with the strained economy on the island before Maria. How many new puertorriqueño Floridians the disaster will bring remains to be seen, but Mr. Trump's behavior will cement resistance among all those who do arrive.
Such antagonism of a major voting bloc in the biggest swing state in the country is, well, moronic.
8
Excellent points. By the way, when will Trump visit fire-ravaged California? Will he ever visit a state that didn't vote for him? Think of the photo op: He can toss toy fire engines into the crowds.
6
I bet if they were a state, with 2 senators, 2 reps and some electoral votes, they would get a lot more respect. Long past time for statehood.
1
Krugman does a bad job of painting the complete picture of this tragedy. The issues here are very complicated. My family has had a small business interests in PR since the late 1960's. I have found the Puerto Ricans to be a very hard working and resourceful people...you have to be to make ends meet on the island. But the government is unapologetically corrupt & inefficient to the core...that is beyond debate. If the PR politicians ran Iowa like they do there they would be under federal indictment. Even before the hurricane hit, water & power systems were already broken. They have a $118 billion debt crisis because of government corruption & mismanagement. PR can afford to be corrupt because they know we will always bail them out. And we do. This isn't fair to us or them. PR should be an independent state. Right now PR's status as a U.S. commonwealth means its 3.5 million citizens don't have the full rights of U.S. citizens. There is no rational reason military or economic why the U.S. should have this territory. It's 2017 we should be out of the Empire building business. Economic & cultural arguments aside, statehood has never been a real option for PR. Indeed, PR's status as an territory means that it "belongs to, but is not part of the U.S." A Republican-controlled Congress would never admit Puerto Rico -- with its massive debt and overwhelmingly Democratic voting base -- into the U.S. The 1st step to getting PR back on their feet is letting them run their own country.
1
No, the first step is to help the people of PR in the wake of this tragedy no matter the financial or political status of their country. You write of the entity of PR, not its people. What of the necessary humanitarian effort that is being sadly and maliciously neglected by the US government? The status of PR vis a vis the US can be worked out afterwards. The people of PR need help now, brown or white, democrat or republican, rich or poor, Trump supporters or detractors. This is a humanitarian crisis, not a political debate.
Trump has handled this tragedy poorly. I never said we should not help PR...we should. In fact the whole world should...if they were a separate country the UN would be involved more. However it is a nation not a state despite the bizarre designation as a commonwealth.. The people there identify as Puerto Rico not Americans. It is wrong for us to rule them like a colony. It is wrong for them to always look to us to save them from the corruption of their local politicians. Their status as a territory benefits no one.
1
Dr. Krugman is right. Anyone who enables this president is as despicable as Trump himself. That goes particularly to the generals who are propping Trump up. They are just over paid Hessians (salaried mercenaries) and can obviously be bought by money. They are not the saviors of the Republic. They are just cashing in, just like Trump and his cabinet cronies...
3
Where is the help for the US Virgin Islands? It is not even mentioned. Americans no matter what color need equal treatment under the law.
3
Arrogant as he is, Trump's main emotion does not see to be pride. Almost all of the major moves he has made as president are based on spite, mainly spite against Barack Obama and everything he accomplished--the ACA, the Iran deal, the climate change deal, TPP, etc. But also spite against anyone who does not kneel and kiss his ring on a daily basis. Hence the spite against Puerto Rico, the media, the Russia investigation, the NFL, etc. And yet this clear pathology will likely not harm his re-election chances, since his voters themselves seemed to have been heavily motivated by spite, and since the Democrats have no leader who can (or should) match Trump lie for lie, distortion for distortion, tantrum for tantrum.
The irony is that when his bull in the china shop runs does the damage to America that it is likely to do, Trump (aided by Sean Hannity and the rest of the GOP noise machine) will be able to blame his political opponents. Maybe Mr. Krugman should run for President, if only to raise the intellectual level of political discourse. If that discourse rises even by a centimeter, Trump and his noise machine will be over their heads.
2
In fact, Trump's relief response to Puerto Rico has been sluggish, insufficient, and insensitive. Disengaged, he has shown a striking lack of leadership. Prior leaders of emergency efforts, Oxfam, and local Puerto Rican officials have all documented that.
Jeremy Konyndyk's piece is well worth reading. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/10/06/preside...
He is a "senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development" at Georgetown University and was "director for foreign disaster assistance at USAID, overseeing the U.S. government's Ebola response in West Africa and other emergencies."
He writes:
"Consider the numbers. The level of personnel deployed was initially low, and at 14,000 still remains lower than the levels deployed for Harvey (31,000) or Irma (40,000) despite considerably more comprehensive damage. The military deployment has been similarly restrained. Fewer air assets were initially deployed to Puerto Rico — nine helicopters and airplanes — than the 11 the United States deployed to the 2016 Hurricane Matthew response in Haiti or the 66 deployed after the 2013 super-typhoon in the Philippines. Even with additional deployments finally bringing air assets to around 80 in the coming days, the Defense Department’s level of engagement remains dramatically smaller than the 22,000 troops, 33 ships and 300 aircraft deployed to support the 2010 Haiti earthquake response."
1
What will it take for the Republicans to realize the obvious about this hollow, empty man? Donald Trump has no conscience, no empathy, no compassion, and no business being the President of the United States.
2
Chapter 4,
Wherein the Republicans Disenfranchise Puerto Ricans, and Nobody Cares
The follow-on effects of this disaster are many, but one of the underlying themes is that Borricuans, as US citizens, are welcome to relocate in the US.
All well & good (thank you, open-hearted Michiganders, inter alia!)
What we're *not* hearing, but what is surely true in the politico-strategic boiler rooms of the GOP & Co., is that Puerto Ricans will be deprived of the right to vote anywhere and everywhere in the continental US.
Republicans will use every means at their disposal -fair, foul or Robertsainian- to stifle their voting rights.
No apologies, no compunction about their racism or myopia, no excusing their failure as Americans. And keep an ear out for the usual suspects (like Kobach) to dish out more casuistry.
2
In regard to Puerto Ricoand the current disaster, why is nobody pushing to make it a state? If Puerto Rico had representation in Congress an voted for president the federal response would have been so much better even under Trump.
1
This will come back to bite his very out of shape butt. You watch. This , along with sabotaging the ACA, is his Katrina. When it comes The storm will be furious
2
The situation in Puerto Rico reminds me of the Great Famine in Ireland. There's little doubt that Britain would have done far more if the tragedy had happened in Kent.
Of course, that was the nineteenth century.
224
And darned if a whole bunch of Irish didn't move to the States. hmmmm
2
Which is where we are heading quite quickly.
Thank you, Joe D and Montreal Moe, for reminding us of the Irish starvation.
trump's health care fix is not health care, as with both parties for years, the health they're concerned with is "market health."
this latest move, deplorable, if you will, is still the inevitable outcome of democratic nonfeasance during the entire obama era and "hell, no" republican intransigence (during which time they also did nothing).
the tangle that this desperate effort will create will tie up actual health care progress for years.
how much better to have some analysis of this disaster-in-waiting (which might also be said of north korea and other real issues), instead the bashing, which often obscures inquiry, for example, puetro rican diligence of lack thereof over years in preparation for storms is not only a disgrace (consistent with other disgraces in govenement there) but it has been a factor in delaying aid to inhabitants...something as simple as a network of helipads around the country would have helped immeasurably, so why not go for the jugular (in preparation for '18 and '20) instead of the petulance that only diminishes press credibility, (not to mention the mental health of the bashers who will need significant post trump stress rehab, PTSR, to help them cross the void left when he's gone).
To lump both parties together in discussing health care is simply ridiculous. 20 million Americans have health insurance who might otherwise not have it thanks to the ACA and more than half of that is from Medicaid not the private insurance component. To suggest Democrats and no better than Republicans undermines any other points you wish to make.
you could look it up, democrats, with all three branches in hand caved to the k street insurance lobby, passed up single payer (which by now would be etched like social security in federal stone) and failed to tweak its obvious weaknesses over eight years is as bad as the republican "hell, no" grumbling and showing up with an empty kit when they got there own three-branch parley...the number of americans left without coverage or with too-costly to keep coverage, especially among the self-employed is past sobering.
The message Trump is sending here is from the right-wing, it does not originate from Donald Trump as he could not formulate this stand on his own. The message is this: "We will no longer pay for the misfortunes of pickaninny Americans who find themselves in financial difficulty in the same way the grasshopper was unprepared for the winter. Our priority is tax relief for ourselves and deregulation which will amplify the value of our tax-relief efforts.
You American wanna-bees are on your own. Get accustomed to that idea; and understand that a real American has a stock portfolio and a net worth which puts them in good shape whenever winter-time comes calling.
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Think about this; Puerto Rico is home to significant pharmaceutical manufacturing. Trump's camera exposure is played out so now he has to find the cameras wherever they went and along the way he swung by the Trump Dump to sabotage Health insurance.
I'm not kidding when I ask; is he trying to kill us by the millions?
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If for even a moment one thinks Mr Trump the only villain in this ongoing tragedy he or she should consider the silence of our United States Congress. They are, as pointed out in the last sentence of this frustrated commentary, in their own enabling way just as culpable.
People of color other than white have been the target of this nations hostility since the arrival of the Pilgrims and by 1641 laws had legalized the enslavement of people whether native to this country or stolen from Africa.
While most white Americans understand and accept this history as both unjust and immoral too few of us stand up to politicians who use the dog whistle of racial prejudice. The most offensive tweets from this piercing whistle actually emanate from the highest political office of our land and the mindful hand of our President Mr Donald Trump.
Very early in his tenure I was willing to give Mr Trump a chance to prove he was not the racist he appeared to be, but he has shown time and time again I was mistaken as he amplified an arrogance that while it clearly exists in the hearts of some I do not consider a reflection of us as a people.
There is a possibility that this observation will prove a wistful hope and we white people are for the most part a frightened, ignorant group who think ourselves and the professed Christian values we hold dear to be under siege. If this is the case as another person earlier commented, "What a horror this has been. We'll never be "Great Again." Never."
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In Trump’s mind, Puerto Rico is like a child you have to support, but which he rarely sees. By that I mean that since they cannot vote for president, they can’t do anything for him. To Trump, they are just a burden; that they are fellow Americans doesn’t enter into his calculus.
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They still vote in the presidential primaries--and Trump lost biggly there...
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"They still vote in the presidential primaries--and Trump lost biggly there..."
This could be his revenge on those who voted wrong.
The U.S. Navy's hospital ship docked in Puerto Rico has hundreds of empty beds but most of them are still empty while people are dying of waterborne bacteria on the island. The same hospital ship can manufacture enough potable water to meet the needs of the entire island, but more than 40 percent of Puerto Ricans still lack water. In past disaster, the U.S. military showed an amazing ability to rebuild power grids, but not in Puerto Rico. Why is Congress not asking why?
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Christy--Because they don't owe Puerto Rico anything, as far as congress is concerned. This is why PR should be a state with true congressional representation. Congress must help the oil and chemical companies recover, so they can continue to line congress's pockets. They won't get much from the citizens of PR, so to heck with them. Besides, they are "brown."
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The trouble with Puerto Ricans, according to Trump and the Trumpistas:
1. They don't vote in national elections, so they're fair game.
2. If they voted, most of them would vote Democratic.
3. They're brown - at least most of them are not of purely white ancestry.
4. They speak Spanish.
5. Many of them are poor, and even more of them have been impoverished by the hurricane.
6. They think they have a right to the necessities of life (see #2).
Let them die before they increase the 47% to over 50%.
Puerto Rico does not participate in the Electoral College. In the 2016 Republican primary voting there: Marco Rubio 75% and Donald Trump 14% – Rubio trounced Trump 5:1. And Trump’s main business dealing in Puerto Rico was a golf course he may have helped bankrupt dumping $33 million in bad bonds on Puerto Ricans.
> Do not underestimate the importance of Trump’s golf course going under in terms of long-term spite and vengeance directed at Puerto Ricans!
We should not forget that the US Virgin Islands were also not pro-Trump in 2016 (they too are not in the Electoral College). Trump's mansion in the USVI was probably destroyed in the hurricane, so he has no clear personal interest there.
Trump helped Texas and Florida because that’s where his voters are. And, as Paul Krugman notes here, he seems to have a thing for wanting to give more help to white people (not the main resident population of either Puerto Rico or the USVI).
Trump is an odious disgrace and an atrocious abomination. No one should ever elect someone like this to the office of President of the United States.
But we did. A majority of us? No. But enough of us.
We’ve been getting what we paid for. And it’s painful having to consider what’s next for us just over the horizon. Maybe a steep cliff? And we’re the lemmings – dutifully plodding on.
That is, unless you’re a resident of Puerto Rico or the USVI. Then you can wade and swim on – apparently into the foreseeable future.
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During the campaign, Trump boasted that he could kill someone in public and his supporters would not abandon him. Well, his policies are killing people in Puerto Rico, and his approval ratings remain above 30%. A president with a normal capacity for empathy would seek to help the people of Puerto Rico out of concern for their welfare. But we have placed in office a man whose version of the "Golden Rule" reads: "Do it to others before they have a chance to do it to you." The people of Puerto Rico have no ability or inclination to help Trump destroy his enemies, so their welfare doesn't factor into his calculations.
His vicious campaign warned us about his character, so no one has any reason to feel surprise over Trump's behavior since entering office. Those voters who refused to support Hillary Clinton got the president they deserved. But the people of Puerto Rico had no voice in the election of this man. They are experiencing a horror for which other people bear the responsibility. For them, as well as for the supporters of Clinton, justice and humanity left the White House when the Obamas departed.
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His base doesn't care. They still love him over 90% think he is the best. They are in their own cocoon of right wing Fox, Sean and Rush, and nothing is going to shake that. Well, nothing except losing their health care they have come to enjoy over the past few years, losing employment as Trump cancels NAFTA, and losing other benefits as the government becomes increasingly incompetent. Remember, this is all starting at the top, but Trump isn't appointing anybody to the middle either...
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Trump , his acolytes and disciples have solidified , a lot , my view of this country which has changed as I grew older . As I read the unsanitized history of the u s a I realize that this country is far from the “ shining city on a hill “ that I had been led to believe in my youth ( 66 now ) . Quite a few I knew volunteered for Vietnam which I gratefully missed . If I had been in the military fighting for a concept that is so blatantly phony and untrue , I’d be ashamed that I had been so easily conned and lied to .
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Along with all the other horrors happening in and to Puerto Rico and its residents, the Jones Act will be reinstated at the end of this week. Trump was initially reluctant to lift it because, he said, shipping interests were against the moratorium. That it will be reinstated now, while the island is dependent on imported food, water, and fuel, is another instance of callous cruelty.
Shame on you, President Trump, shame, shame, shame.
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Simply a failure of democracy. A representative of the people bent on damaging their government.
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Paper towels will also immunize them from thirst, waterborne illness, the need for kidney dialysis, the need for cancer treatment, jobs to make money, or just the need to communicate with each other. With paper towels they will never have to worry about rain, so they won't need roofs. Paper towels are magical things, the result of magical thinking, as you can tell from tRump's description of them to Rev Huckleberry!
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Remember this is the same party that attempted to withhold financial aid to the states affected by hurricane Sandy and did not wince about providing it as they should have to victims of Harvey. This is a party in conflict with its neighbors who don't look like them, pray like them, date like them, and think like them.
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If violation of his oath of office is an impeachable offense, Donald Trump's lack of action on Puerto Rico and his actions this week to destroy our medical care system are a violation of his oath, and are therefore impeachable offenses.
Remember, the Pramble is also a part of our Constitution, and indeed delineate the purposes for which we formed our government. Donald Trump is working in direct opposition to those purposes.
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I'm just going to apply the NRA argument here to all those so focused on the economic "sins" of the time before Maria: Now is NOT the time to "politicise" this tragedy. Now is the time to treat the US citizens of Puerto Rico exactly the same as we would the US citizens of Iowa in the wake is a natural disaster. Get them the relief they need, and get it now. You can talk about the economic""failures" later - after power, water, and shelter is restored fire the entire island.
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Let's not forget Puerto Rico is its own country. On many occasions they have voted to maintain their independence and not become a state. For years their infrastructure has deteriorated and it where does personal and independent responsibilities come in why should the federal government be responsible for everything
There are historic rules in place along with agreements that dictate these things. Did you not take history? Apart from that, are you not appalled at paying for private flights of Trumps minions??? Incredible the arguments that come from uninformed minds and callous hearts! UnAmerican.
I am sure USPS, Fedex, UPS, or Amazon could use a talented paper towel thrower like Mr. Trump at one of their package facilities. It would give Mr. Trump the opportunity to see how these organizations handle logistics and serve their customer base.
Mr. Trump has proven time after time he lacks the ability to empathize or sympathize--he can only display these qualities when told too or reads from a scripted message prepared by his staff.
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Trump is tossing paper towels to Puerto Ricans because he's insensitive to -- and ignorant about -- their plight, and he feels free to adopt token gestures so commonly abused by the powerful and meekly suffered by the powerless, like kissing innocent babies and hugging destitute grandmothers.
If Congress tossed Puerto Ricans paper ballots that had real consequences in terms of electoral votes for the presidency, then the situation might be different.
Now Puerto Ricans have insults added to injury: penurious treatment by the president in addition to the crime that precipitated the American Revolution -- taxation without representation.
It's not only Trump who has behaved dismissively and undemocratically toward Puerto Rico. It's been a longstanding history of their stepchild relationship with the US.
And what about the other hardhit islands? US Virgin Islands, St. Johns?
When you don't have a vote, in politics you simply do not count.
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Good essay on paper towels. How about we get Mr. Krugmans opinion on the Weinstein case, especially its socio-political ramifications and implications?
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Weinstein is a distraction for the press..he is really just a dirty old man...the kind most women learn to avoid early if they have any smarts. The only difference is the amount of money he possesses to indulge his perverse behavior.
There are literally thousands of Weinsteins out there, including our moronic President and until our country as a whole learns to respect women, Weinstein will be a 30 day wonder.
Meanwhile, let's pay attention to the fact that Russia is subverting our electoral system and our supposed leader is an unhinged moron.
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Trump is merely carrying out his campaign promises to Putin for Russia's help in getting him elected. He is destroying every aspect of our country from disaster relief to health care to alienating us from our allies. Just wait until his tax cuts for the rich kicks in and he explodes our national debt. Then Republicans will say we can't afford Social Security and Medicare anymore. Trump is destroying our country from within with the aid of equally mendacious Republicans.
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Puerto Ricans, though US citizens, cannot vote in US Presidential elections. If they could have voted, Trump never would have been elected. He knows this perfectly well.
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In 1845 the potato blight hit Ireland and two million people disappeared in the next seven years. We call it the potato famine but there was no famine it was an economic genocide. The two million people that died or were deported were Ireland's hovel dwellers who had no role to play in Ireland's food export economy. Ireland's food exports did not decline and Ireland's landlords prospered as people starved. Not only was there beef and pork, butter and cheese from Ireland to grace the world's best table there enough grain make whiskey and the empty hovels were burned to provide additional grazing areas for cattle and hogs.
In London The Economist told its readers why feeding the hungry was economic insanity. We now call the economic system that kept the food from the hungry neoliberalism.
Like the Irish peasants in Swift's Modest proposal 1727 and the victims of the potato blight 1845 Puerto Ricans are not Americans. They are some lower form of life whose life has its only meaning when they enrich our economy, our wealth and our power. Swift called it cannibalism.
For Trump, Ryan, Cruz and the rest of the GOP in Washington it is still 1845 and the poor are a burden to be disposed of. The members of the British Parliament were all upstanding Christians and honourable men who took on their their sacred duty to stop the hungry from being fed. If what is happening in Puerto Rico didn't happen on a regular basis one might blame incompetence but the mirror might tell another story.
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Please don't forget that the federal response has been even more inadequate in the U.S. Virgin Islands. While a smaller population center, these people are also U.S. citizens and need our help. Sadly, the "equal-opportunity monster" has also forgotten them.
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Iowa is a State of the United States. Puerto Rico is NOT. Puerto Rico is a unincorporated territory of the United States . To compare the two indicates that the author is unaware of the difference.
Residents of an unincorporated territory of the United States do NOT pay federal income tax and are NOT required to serve in the United State arm forces during time of war.
I.e. An unincorporated territory of the United States has neither the same DUTIES nor does it have the same PRIVILEGES as a State.
That includes access to federally financed assistance, that nevertheless is provided to Puerto Rico.
Let 'em eat cake!
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Trumps incredibly unsympathetic and callous tweet could easily have been:
...I cannot throw rolls of cheap paper towels out at pre-screened crowds for photo-ops (under the most difficult circumstances) in PR forever.
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To paraphrase a famous saying: there's no aid without representation. As long as Puerto Ricans don't become a real US political constituency, there will always be callous, uncaring and racist US politicians such as Trump who will simply ignore them and their problems. It's time to discuss the possibility of making Puerto Rico into a proper US State with full political rights for its citizens - then you'll see how politicians will scramble to help if their precious electoral votes are threatened.
Why is Trump making only loans to Puerto Rico and emphasizing their dire financial condition? One reason may be to lay groundwork for an effort to privatize assets such as Vieques National Wildlife Refuge. I've been told Vieques is stunning, with the best snorkeling this side of Hawaii. Ripe for development. And no pesky Communist government, like that other Caribbean island.
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Since there's no electoral votes involved, you can't expect much help from republicans. They won't help anybody unless there's something in it for them. Germany offered to help Puerto Rico with solar power and Mexico also offered to help, so Puerto Rico could possibly declare free agency and dump the United States. Donald Trump could be one of the few presidents if not the only one to start losing possessions. Psychiatrists are already saying he might be losing his mind.
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There will be Florida's electoral votes to kiss goodbye after many of those Puerto Ricans move to the mainland. I am guessing those that have continued to believe in the GOP no longer do, and will vote accordingly.
The country is sinking in to the abyss :(Threats against citizens, denying healthcare to children and the poor, unceasing threats against elected officials and the press. Democracy under siege- Visigoths at the door. Can we survive?
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What Trump is doing with regard to Puerto Rico completely wipes out Dubya's "You're doin' a heckuva job, Brownie" response to Katrina. It's actually a crime, in my view.
Somehow, though, unlike Dubya, Trump maintains a base that continues to love him. I can only wish a similar natural disaster to befall his base so that they can judge for themselves the degrees of both Trump's competence and caring.
Each day brings a new disgrace. Trump is a true blot on our country's history, and if we survive him, we must never forget him.
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Deaths from hurricane Katrina: 1,833.
Deaths from hurricane Maria: 45
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/11/us/puerto-rico-maria-crisis/index.html
But these days, George Bush is the beloved of New York Times', largely because he is not Trump.
Oh well,....
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Hi, Aruna -
Deaths from Hurricane Maria, 45 - so far.
Trump suspended the century old Jones Act for in order to ease hurricane aid shipments to Puerto Rico. He initially refused to suspend it but finally did so because he was pressured by Congress. But the waiver was for only ten days, and then he did not renew it, meaning that the battered island has to go back to paying double the shipping costs for food and supplies. What kind of president is this?
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Puerto Rico's problem is that they are brown and speak Spanish. Therefore, they can't be part of America, of the "real" America. Therefore, they really only deserve a few coins tossed at them (or paper towels). If they don't show enough gratitude, they get nothing. I think I summed up the situation pretty well.
PS. I seems to me that Texas's economy was also in the dumps before getting hit by the hurricane, so I guess it is also all their fault and they should also lose their aid.
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From a dear friend in PR this past week:
"Three weeks after Maria. I cannot read one more Drumpf idiocy about our recovery. Dialysis patients dying, people burying family members in their own yards, children and elderly going to bed hungry day after day. Diseases striking with deadly consequences because we have no choice, including me, except to use river water for basic needs. Our hearts are heavy seeing our beloved island ravished and broken. No doubt better times will come and those of us who refuse to leave will come out stronger. For now though, we need to not be forgotten. We will stand and help those we can with what we have but we need massive assistance. The Jones Act had resumed again. Madness. In Haiti, the next day after their hurricane the US put 400 helicopters on the ground. We have gotten 80 so far. I go visit my father's cemetery and there are all the military buried. Proud US citizens, many giving their lives in defense of "their" country. We are American citizens who have been set aside. Be our voice. Much love. Cannot communicate more often because of signal loss. Be well, take care and pray for us."
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Several weeks after the storm, only 15% of the island has had its electricity restored. Unbelievable. The electric utilities on the mainland should be sending their people to go to Puerto Rico and apply their expertise to alleviate the pain this is inflicting on our fellow citizens. And the President should be pressuring them to help out.
Since Trump has no grasp of reality he probably thinks this is another battle between the Sharks and the Jets.
I wish all those people, insulted by Trump, would have thrown back those paper towels and hit Trump right in the head.
Maybe it would have "knocked some sense" into him as my mother used to say. Probably not, though. And sad to say, the throwers would probably have been arrested.
Wonder how Donald would have loved to have a 71+ year old man throwing paper towels in the faces of his beloved Ivanka or Jared.
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