United States President Donald Trump had once seriously thought of selling off Puerto Rico in 2017. This was when the territory was ravaged by Hurricane Maria.

In a conversation with the New York Times, the former acting Homeland Security secretary, Elaine Duke, made the bizarre claims, while adding that Trump only thinks like a “businessman”.

Also read: Puerto Rico justice secretary says she doesn’t want to be governor

According to Duke, in the beginning of Trump’s presidency, he mostly thought of everything as a businessman. The hurricane had hit the island in September 2017.

Reportedly, Trump thought of outsourcing electricity, and also to sell off the island. Additionally, he also seemed interested in “divesting” the asset. However, the idea was never taken seriously, even after Trump had suggested it.

3,000 deaths

In 2017, Hurricane Maria killed 3,000 people on the island, and major power cuts were witnessed everywhere.

Trump had been involved in spats with Puerto Rican leaders and blamed them of mismanaging resources, including the billions put out by the federal government to help with recovery. He accused the leaders of using the money elsewhere, instead of the island’s recovery.

People break into a warehouse with supplies believed to have been from when Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017 in Ponce, Puerto Rico on January 18, 2020, after a powerful earthquake hit the island. President Donald Trump on January 16 freed up emergency aid for Puerto Rico’s recovery from a January 7 earthquake that caused widespread disruption and damage on the island. Trump’s declaration of a major disaster in Puerto Rico makes federal funding available for repairs, temporary housing and low-cost loans “to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster,” the White House said. | AFP

 

In fact, in November 2018, Trump wanted an end to aid being sent out to the island. White House officials had informed leaders of the same.

Also read: Search warrant against Puerto Rico’s embattled governor, Ricardo Rossello

The hurricane that left 3,000 dead was touted as “an incredible, unsung success”, by Donald Trump, who had constantly denied any mishandling of the situation.

Corona won’t let up!

The US is currently reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, and had recorded 59,747 new cases in the last 24 hours, as per numbers from the Johns Hopkins University.

The country has been inducting record numbers over the last few weeks. Just on Saturday, 11 July, there were 66,528 new cases in the country.

As of now, the country has registered 3,301,820 infections in total. 135,171 people have also been killed, with over 442 additional deaths.

Even amid such numbers, President Trump has called for a complete reopening of schools across the country this autumn, which could put thousands of kids at risk.

Trump was seen donning a mask for the first time in public on Sunday.