The Lincoln Project is using its latest ad to remind Spanish-speaking voters of how President Trump responded when Puerto Rico was devastated by two back-to-back hurricanes in September 2017.
A U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is home to more than 3.5 million American citizens. In Spanish, the ad's narrator says the island is different now, due to the destruction caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which left thousands dead and even more without electricity, food, or clean water.
Trump's response to the humanitarian crisis was "lies and disrespect," the narrator says. "During his short trip to the island, all Trump thought to do was throw paper towels and hand out cans of fish to our people. Real help? No way. And when 10 killer earthquakes in six days rocked Puerto Rico and left 8,000 homeless, Trump stopped billions of dollars in emergency relief to our island."
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The ad includes several clips of Trump praising his response, saying he did a "fantastic job," as well as telling the people of Puerto Rico that the natural disasters have "thrown our budget a little out of whack." Some think Trump's actions were caused by "a lack of empathy," the narrator intones. "Others say it's racism. We know it's disrespect, and Puerto Rican voters are saying, 'Hasta la vista, Trump, you will not be back.'" Watch the ad below. Catherine Garcia
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