As the days drag on and the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico threatens to become a full-blown disaster, people have started to ask why the delay? Trump sent the the full force of the federal government into both Texas and Florida within hours of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma inflicting massive damage on those states. Yet, almost a week later, the roughly three and a half million American citizens of the Puerto Rico are running low on food, fresh water and medicine, with entire communities still completely cut off. With its much smaller population, efforts in the similarly ravaged U.S. Virgin Islands are well underway but the massive operation required in Puerto Rico has hardly started.

ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website

In the absence of Trump's leadership, Hillary Clinton reminded the country what presidents are supposed to do in situations like this:

ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website

ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website

Trump, on the other hand, spent the entire weekend whining about how mean black football players are. And when someone mentioned to him that maybe he should say something the devastation afflicting literally millions of American citizens, his tweets were a bizarre attack on the island and its economy:

After my initial reaction of pure revulsion, I asked myself why he was so indifferent to the suffering of millions of Americans. The answer, of course, was that he doesn't actually consider them Americans.

To test this theory, I headed over to the comment section of Breitbart, otherwise known as the inside of Trump's brain. On any given topic, the cesspool that is Breitbart is usually a reflection of what Trump is saying because these are his people and they are the only people he speaks to. Almost literally. Every speech and rally is tailored entirely to appeal to the rabidly racist Bretibart base. Trump, lacking any coherent ideology of his own, relies on Breitbart to shape his worldview so it stood to reason I would find the same kind of indifference.

I was not disappointed:

J C • 18 hours ago I was in PR a few years ago and it looked like a typical third world country instead of part of say Florida in the US so maybe a little rebuilding might be a good thing only they'll just turn it back like it was in time...We need to ditch them like a bad date...THIRD WORLDERS ARE GONNA BE THIRD WORLDERS..

FedUpWithWelfareStates • 17 hours ago What ever happened to the billions that Puerto Rico OWED the U.S.?Now, even more of the U.S. tax payer hard earned dollars are going to be given to a "Debtor territory"?What is in it for US?NO, to wasting even MORE U.S. Tax Payer $$$ on a bunch of 3rd World Debtors, who refuse to pay their bills!

John Gruskos What Happened. Trump!✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ • 5 days ago We should grant independence to Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Samoa.They are a drain on the US treasury and a burden on American taxpayers.If they ever become states, the Democrats will permanently dominate the congress and the presidency.

TheGoyWonder ✓ᴵˢˡᵃᵐᵒᵖʰᵒᵇᵉ John Gruskos • 4 days ago but we won them fair and square. For Puerto Rico, I say we make it DEPORTATION ISLAND and send all deportees there to rot. on Virgin Islands, we legalize prostitution and take 30% of the cut. Samoa we trade to Chyna in exchange for wiping the debt.

NibbleOnARichard What Happened. Trump!✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ • 5 days ago I agree with the spirit of your post, but Puerto Ricans are not US citizens - while it is a US territory Puerto Rico has repeatedly voted against joining the union.



My heart and prayers are with them, but I say America first and if they don't want to be part of us they're on their own right now we have enough to deal with.

You get the general idea. Puerto Ricans are third world moochers and we should discard them. Curiously, this idea would never be floated concerning the poorest counties in America, many of which are significantly poorer than Puerto Rico but also happen to be overwhelmingly white. Surely that's just a coincidence.

In the interests of full disclosure, my father was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the mainland when he was 5. I've been to the island twice but PR doesn't hold a special place in my heart. Even so, I find it deeply insulting, but not the least bit surprising, that Trump and his monstrous followers do not view us as "real" Americans despite the fact that Puerto Ricans have been American citizens longer than Alaska and Hawaii have been states. I find it just as insulting that Trump is more focused on Puerto Rico's rising debt than its rising death toll.

That's just the kind of hate that infests the right wing these days, though. And it's only going to get worse as Puerto Ricans flee their ruined homes for the mainland, gradually dispersing throughout the Southeast (and New York, of course). Hundreds of thousands of Latinos coming to states like Florida and the Carolinas?! Sounds like White Genocide to me! Maybe Hurricane Maria was a liberal ploy to turn red states blue! I promise you someone will suggest this idea if Puerto Ricans can't return home fast enough for their delicate white sensibilities. Guaranteed.

But no matter how hard Trump and his white nationalist followers may wish otherwise, Puerto Ricans are American citizens and they have the right to vote. The louder the hate from the right, the more Puerto Ricans are going to resent the people who spit on them in their time on need and the more the Latino community will solidify its opposition to Republicans.

Maybe Trump should get his ass in gear and get PR up and running sooner than later.

There are 41 days left to the the 2017 elections.

There are 405 days left to the 2018 elections.

- This article kills fascists

Please consider becoming a paid member of The Daily Banter and supporting us in holding the Trump administration to account. Your help is needed more than ever, and is greatly appreciated.