Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s aunt says the local government is responsible for her grandmother’s suffering since Hurricane Maria, not former President Donald Trump as the congresswoman suggested in a viral Twitter post.
“It’s a problem here in Puerto Rico with the administration and the distribution of help,” Ocasio-Cortez’s aunt told the Daily Mail. “It is not a problem with Washington. We had the assistance, and it didn’t get to the people.”
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The comment appears to contradict a recent Twitter post from Ocasio-Cortez in which she shared a photo of her grandmother’s house in Puerto Rico that had been damaged by Hurricane Maria and invoked Trump’s name.
“Just over a week ago, my abuela fell ill,” the congresswoman tweeted earlier this month. “I went to Puerto Rico to see her — my 1st time in a year+ bc of COVID. This is her home. Hurricane María relief hasn’t arrived. Trump blocked relief $ for PR. People are being forced to flee ancestral homes, & developers are taking them.”
Just over a week ago, my abuela fell ill. I went to Puerto Rico to see her- my 1st time in a year+ bc of COVID.
This is her home. Hurricane María relief hasn’t arrived. Trump blocked relief $ for PR.
People are being forced to flee ancestral homes, & developers are taking them. pic.twitter.com/wnRxLalA2D
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 2, 2021
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Ocasio-Cortez was widely slammed by conservatives who wondered aloud why she didn’t use part of her $174,000 salary to help fix the roof, and some pointed out that the congresswoman recently purchased a Tesla.
“Honey, you drive a Tesla and have two apartments,” Republican congressional candidate Lavern Spicer tweeted. “If your grandmother is living poor that’s because you don’t help her out. I’m surprised that a socialist wouldn’t redistribute that wealth to their grandma. Sad!”
Later in the thread, Ocasio-Cortez told her followers that her grandmother is doing fine and being cared for.
“And for the record — my abuela is doing okay. It’s not about us, but about what’s happening to Puerto Rican’s across the island,” she said. “She had a place to go to and be cared for — what about the thousands of people who don’t?”
Ocasio-Cortez also said that Trump is not solely to blame for the hurricane response and acknowledged that local government played a role.
“I want to be clear — while Trump admin had a major role, it wasn’t just them,” the New York Democrat said. “La Junta, local policies, etc were all on the same page: policies that pushed out local families. To turn this around, we need audits & get recovery relief to people ASAP, without the onerous strings.”
Hurricane Maria battered the island nation of Puerto Rico in 2018, killing a reported 3,000 people and causing tens of billions of dollars in damages.
