Ex-President Barack Obama has spoken out about the need for aid to Puerto Rico, encouraging other Americans to “answer the call.”
Puerto Rico suffered a devastating blow from Hurricane Maria, leaving residents without running water or power, in a situation to begg for help from federal agencies.
President Donald Trump failed to act fast enough to ensure adequate aid reaches the island, and he is also being accused of insensitivity for stating that many of Puerto Rico’s problems, including its debt, predated the hurricane.
The president tweeted that Puerto Rico was “billions of dollars” in debt to “Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with.”
In contract, Obama acting as a real president encouraged people to donate and highlighted that Puerto Ricans are American citizens.
“We’re expanding our efforts to help Puerto Rico & the USVI, where our fellow Americans need us right now. Join us at oneamericaappeal.org ,” the former president wrote, sharing a video he made with former presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton for One America Appeal, which aims to help areas hit by hurricanes, including Texas, Florida and now Puerto Rico.
“As former presidents we want to help our fellow Americans begin to recover,” Obama says in the short video, while Bush says of the damage caused to Texas: “People are hurting down here, but as one Texan put it, ‘We got more love in Texas than water.‘”