Hollywood, are you missing a supervillain?
by Tom Sullivan
Our real estate president last night finally mentioned the disaster in Puerto Rico. After hits by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, nearly three and a half million Americans are without power: the entire island. Sixty percent have no potable water.
Residents on the north shore haven’t heard anything of the outside world for four days, Vox reported last night:
“Hysteria is starting to spread,” Jose Sanchez Gonzalez, mayor of Manati, a town on the North shore, told the Associated Press. “The hospital is about to collapse. It’s at capacity. … We need someone to help us immediately.”
Hillary Clinton, in a fascinating interview last night on All In with Chris Hayes, could not fathom why the US Navy’s hospital ship Comfort has not already been dispatched.
So, just before the Clinton interview aired, our real estate president finally mentioned the devastation in Puerto Rico. Viewed through the lens of money, naturally.
Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble..— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
…It's old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
…owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical are top priorities – and doing well. #FEMA— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
Three and a half million Americans are without food, water, and power, but sadly we must deal with the money owed Wall Street and the banks?!
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes was as aghast as the rest of us:
INSANE for the president talking about PR's debts to "Wall Street" while 60% of ppl have *no safe drinking water*!!!— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 26, 2017
Reportedly, more than 10,000 FEMA and federal staffers are on the ground in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. But residents of Puerto Rico are not feeling any relief as yet, NBC News found:
“It looks like a bomb went off,” said Monique Casablanca, 37, by phone from Ocean Park in the capital of San Juan.
“I’ve seen very little to no police presence, I’ve seen zero military presence. Nights are excruciating, there’s screaming, there’s gunshots. It’s hot, so it’s hard to sleep right now I haven’t slept in 48 hours,” said Casablanca, a rental property manager.
Thankfully, an airlift finally has begun. (Sorry, cannot embed.)
But what took the president so long? As Digby suggested, perhaps he has no idea the residents are American citizens: “I would bet money that if you asked the president if Puerto Ricans should be given a[n] amnesty and a path to citizenship he would say no.” Or maybe it just took two and a half weeks for a staffer to mention the Spanish-speaking island is American soil.
Since this is the alternative facts presidency, here’s an alternate theory for his tardiness.
Perhaps where others see devastation and human suffering, our real estate president sees opportunity.
Perhaps it took him a few days to work out how he might turn all that opportunistic destruction into billions for himself.
Costa del Don
Trumpville
Marina del Don
Otisburg
But with Sebastian Gorka gone, who is left in this reality show administration to play Otis? Sad!
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