Trump Distorts Truth In Tweet Lamenting Aid Given To Puerto Rico, Ahead Of Impending Storm

As tropical storm Dorian nears the island of Puerto Rico, the possibility of it becoming a hurricane has crossed the minds of many — including President Donald Trump.

The island has not yet fully recovered from the devastation of Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico in September 2017. Since that time, several political leaders on the island territory of the United States have been critical of the slow response from the federal government to provide aid.

Discussing the news of the impending storm set to hit Puerto Rico, Trump on Tuesday tweeted out his thoughts about the money already supposedly doled out to the island.

“Congress approved 92 Billion Dollars for Puerto Rico last year, an all time record of its kind for ‘anywhere,'” Trump added in his thoughts.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1166382203808440320

The comments seem to imply a reluctance to help the island with any more disaster relief in the future, although such comments have not yet been made by the president or the executive branch at this time.

The comments from the president are, in fact, incorrect.

Since the storm hit in 2017 to May of this year, about $14 billion of aid — about 15 percent of what Trump has claimed — has actually reached Puerto Rico, NBC News reported.

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What’s more, the island may not see the remaining $92 billion for many years to come. Only about $42 billion is set to be given to the government of Puerto Rico for recovery from the 2017 storm, with the remainder of the sum Trump cited being used for future storm events, the Associated Press reported earlier this year. Those remaining funds may not be utilized for many years, perhaps decades, to come.

What’s more, the $42 billion in aid that was meant to be given to Puerto Rico is presently stalled, as Congress has to determine where each dollar allocated is set to be handed out.

Lastly, Trump is wrong on one more point: the aid given out to Puerto Rico is not an “all-time record.” The wreckage brought about by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, for instance, resulted in $120 billion being given for those recovery efforts by the federal government.