Sen. Amy Klobuchar spent the weekend visiting with leaders in Puerto Rico and repeatedly attacked President Donald Trump for his response to Hurricane Maria ahead of her visit to the U.S. territory.
“A lot of it has to do with this president, who continually wants to look at Puerto Rico in a different way when in fact there are citizens there, there are people, this is a U.S. territory. And he’s someone who just wants to look at them and let them go, I guess,” Klobuchar said on Rachel Maddow’s show Thursday night.
Joined @maddow last night to talk about what it's like to run for president and why I'm headed to Puerto Rico pic.twitter.com/HSSl6zZUq3
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) May 10, 2019
“You have people that need so much help, that lost everything—that lost their homes, that lost their hospitals, that lost their schools,” she continued. “We respond. We don’t just let them out. We did it when New Jersey needed help, we helped them. When North Dakota needed help with Grand Forks and that flood, we helped them. We come together as a nation.”
“This president just looks for divides,” Klobuchar concluded. “He wants to blame people in Puerto Rico. He wants to blame immigrants. He wants to blame people of color. Every day, if there is a divide, he looks for it.”
Klobuchar was back on MSNBC Friday morning with a panel on Morning Joe, where she said that Trump “goes after” people “instead of bringing them together.”
“And you wonder why the general manager of the Red Sox didn’t show up at the White House—he’s Puerto Rican. We have millions of people that are Puerto Rican in this country and this is a simple thing. When we have disaster across this country, whether they are North Dakota floods, whether they are hurricanes off New Jersey, we come together,” Klobuchar said.
It’s simple: Americans want leadership that brings people together. I’m visiting with leaders in Puerto Rico today to listen to their needs, and find ways to help. pic.twitter.com/kATCwwQZMu
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) May 11, 2019
“We come together. That’s what we do. And this president has chosen not to take that route. And I’m telling you, in the end, it bugs people,” she said. “They want to have someone in the White House that they are proud of. That’s who I want to be.”
On Saturday, Klobuchar visited with Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello to discuss disaster relief efforts.
“Disaster relief is a humanitarian issue, not a wedge issue, no matter what the president says,” Klobuchar wrote on Twitter.
Disaster relief is a humanitarian issue, not a wedge issue, no matter what the president says. Thank you Gov. @ricardorossello for meeting with me to discuss how we can work together to rebuild disaster-affected areas in Puerto Rico. pic.twitter.com/0EfPd35zck
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) May 11, 2019
Several other Democrats vying for the party’s nomination have already visited Puerto Rico, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Amy Klobuchar” by Amy Klobuchar.
