An Unfit President Fails Puerto Rico - Michelle Goldberg
Michelle Goldberg OCT. 3, 2017
In the frustrated anguish of Puerto Rico, we can see the real-world consequences of Donald Trumps flagrant incompetence.
A little more than eight months ago, the United States inaugurated one of its worst people as president, a nasty showbiz huckster whose own staffers speak of him as if he were a malevolent toddler. Yet the country has held up pretty well, considering.
Yes, there were emboldened Nazis marching in the streets, and crucial intelligence on the Islamic State casually passed to the Russians. Striving young immigrants whod been protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program have seen their lives upended and trans people have been barred from enlisting in the military.
Yet most of the institutions of American governance continued to function. The stock market plunged on the night of Trumps election, but then it turned around and started soaring. The economic recovery that began under Barack Obama continued. It was hard to see any immediate material impact from the Trump White Houses chaos and melodrama. Until now.
Reports from post-hurricane Puerto Rico tell of American citizens experiencing a level of humanitarian desperation usually seen only in the poorest of countries. As of Saturday, according to the Department of Defense, only 45 percent of customers on the island had access to drinking water. People are frantically seeking food and medical supplies, and theres not enough diesel to deliver much of the aid thats reached San Juan. While that citys mayor pleaded with the world for help, the president of the United States tweeted racially inflected insults at her and her people from his golf club. He implied they are lazy and want everything to be done for them rather than helping themselves.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/opinion/trump-fails-puerto-rico.html