Trump keeps telling the same whopper about Puerto Rico
President Trump has repeatedly claimed that Puerto Rico has already received $91 billion in disaster relief funding.
That's not true, and the White House knows it. But as The Washington Post explains, there seems to be a good reason Trump keeps repeating it.
Trump first reportedly claimed that Puerto Rico had received $91 billion in aid back in March, with the Post saying he dropped the figure in a meeting with GOP senators and questioned why South Carolina only got a fraction of that presumed amount. He's since taken the number public, tweeting it on Monday and repeating it again in a Wednesday night rally.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After that first reported instance in March, a Post analysis found that only $11.2 billion had actually been spent on Puerto Rico's recovery from devastating hurricanes in late 2017. Another $40.8 billion has been allocated for relief, but hasn't gotten to Puerto Rico yet. The rest of Trump's massive figure comes from totaling these figures with another $50 billion in estimated costs over the next 20 years — a $50 billion that certainly hasn't been guaranteed to get to the island yet.
So while Trump's claim may have some merit, it's incorrect to say that Puerto Rico has gotten a massive $91 billion when it's actually only received about an eighth of that total. The White House actually said it would direct any questions about the $91 billion to the Post's analysis, so read that here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Is $140,000 the real poverty line?Feature Financial hardship is wearing Americans down, and the break-even point for many families keeps rising
-
Film reviews: ‘The Secret Agent’ and ‘Zootopia 2’Feature A Brazilian man living in a brutal era seeks answers and survival and Judy and Nick fight again for animal justice
-
Trump: Losing energy and supportFeature Polls show that only one of his major initiatives—securing the border—enjoys broad public support
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
