President Donald Trump faced backlash late Monday for putting quotation marks around the word “place” in a tweet about Puerto Rico.
Trump used the punctuation in a series of posts in which he criticized Democrats for voting against an emergency aid bill. Democrats said the bill did not go far enough to help the U.S. territory in its ongoing recovery effort from the devastation inflicted by 2017′s Hurricane Maria.
The Democrats today killed a Bill that would have provided great relief to Farmers and yet more money to Puerto Rico despite the fact that Puerto Rico has already been scheduled to receive more hurricane relief funding than any “place” in history. The people of Puerto Rico.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2019
Trump’s White House has repeatedly been criticized over its mismatched reaction to the hurricane in comparison to the way it has responded to natural disasters that have taken place on the mainland.
Twitter users rhetorically asked why Trump had used the quotation marks around the word, as one suggested the president was “charging up the racism” with the post.
... why are there quotes around the word place? https://t.co/RQzD4w0NGA
— fake nick ramsey (@nick_ramsey) April 2, 2019
Bruh the ellipses in this tweet are charging up the racism like a Kaio-ken https://t.co/DP5gM9D1yJ
— Andray (@andraydomise) April 2, 2019
You didn't even know they were Americans. You denied the devastation they suffered and threw paper towels at them, you festering heap of gangrenous bowel slime. https://t.co/LFyaoXNFEa
— Randi Mayem Singer (@rmayemsinger) April 2, 2019
"place"
— Amir Talai (@AmirTalai) April 2, 2019
THIS FUCKING ASSHOLE https://t.co/ubTrxCdlRx
What exactly are the quotation marks around "place" trying to convey here? https://t.co/Evcl4QjZtS
— Chris Sommerfeldt (@C_Sommerfeldt) April 2, 2019
hey, remember when our president called the people of Puerto Rico lazy and let them drown in the dark? and he refused to send aid because the ocean was in the way? but then he threw paper towels! it was awesome! pretty sure our president hopes you've forgotten this, but I haven't
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) April 2, 2019
The most insulting thing is you don't even try to lie creatively. You just throw it on the wall knowing some of it is going to stick because nobody really demands the truth from you. https://t.co/9buS0r8xLP
— Voyage Around My Dad, Harry Leslie Smith (@Harryslaststand) April 2, 2019
You do know Puerto Rico isn't one of the Mexican countries, right?
— Seth Kibel (@SethKibelMusic) April 2, 2019
"place?" Are you questioning that it's a place?
— John Iadarola (@johniadarola) April 2, 2019
Please explain why "place" is in quotation marks. I cannot for the life of me imagine why.
— Mark Halley✌️ (@MarkHalleyPhD) April 2, 2019
Scare quotes on "place" aside (does the president really doubt Puerto Rico is a place?) there is a lot of aid that's supposed to go to PR. But only a quarter has been released (see @GlennKesslerWP fact check.) Rs also killed a D bill that would provide great relief to farmers. https://t.co/U0uVG4r3V8
— Michael McAuliff (@mmcauliff) April 2, 2019
More than 3,000 people have died in Puerto Rico, which has more than 3 million US citizens. Trump wants to give the island $0 but wants Alabama to have A+ treatment for a tornado that killed 23. Imagine if he valued all life equally. But, that wouldn't be Trumpian would it? https://t.co/mZxl9Ca8PZ
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) April 2, 2019
Yikes. He's really off his rocker tonight. https://t.co/GgarOfAVBw
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) April 2, 2019
This statement looks like it is going somewhere very bad ... https://t.co/7ntkbJBJC1
— David Rothschild (@DavMicRot) April 2, 2019
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