Puerto Ricans hope Trump brings relief, not rhetoric, after Hurricane Maria
Source: USA Today
Oren Dorell, USA TODAY Published 5:02 a.m. ET Oct. 3, 2017 | Updated 5:33 a.m. ET Oct. 3, 2017
GUAYANILLA, Puerto Rico — Ahead of President Trump's arrival in Puerto Rico on Tuesday to view the impact of Hurricane Maria, residents expressed frustration over how the emergency response has been politicized, but hoped that his visit will lead to extra assistance from the U.S. mainland.
"People need water, gasoline and tarps, without the politics," said Liza Minnelli Pacheco, 43, a native of this town about 90 miles southwest of the capital San Juan. She returned to the area from her home in Tampa, Fla., to help with relief efforts.
In multiple communities, from cities to isolated hilltop farms, people here from all walks of life described to USA TODAY what they would ask the president if they could as they struggle to obtain basic necessities two weeks after Maria, the worst hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in nearly a century, ravished this island home to 3.4 million people.
And like Pacheco, their wishes were focused on how to get aid delivered efficiently, not on Trump's feud with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz who he accused of "poor leadership" after she faulted federal authorities for calling their response "a good news story" while people were still cut off and suffering on the island.
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Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/10/03/puerto-ricans-hope-trump-brings-relief-not-rhetoric-after-hurricane-maria/725949001/
USA TODAYVerified account @USATODAY 1m1 minute ago
Puerto Ricans hope Trump brings relief — and not politics — to their island. https://usat.ly/2hJ5kuc via @OrenDorell
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