Biden Signals More Empathy Than Trump To Hurricane-Ravaged Puerto Rico: 'Going To Make Sure You Get Every Dollar Promised'

President Joe Biden struck a different tone from his predecessor Donald Trump on a visit to hurricane-battered Puerto Rico on Monday.

What Happened: Biden said ahead of his arrival in the U.S. territory that Puerto Rico will receive $60 million to help bolster coastal regions against future storms, reported The New York Times.

“We’re going to make sure you get every single dollar promised,” said Biden, as per the report. “That’s why I approved emergency declarations in Puerto Rico before the hurricane."

On a visit to the city of Ponce, Peurto Rico, Biden said, referring to the two storms that have hit the territory since 2017, “For everyone who survived Maria, Fiona must have been an all-too-familiar nightmare.”

In 2019, Trump slammed Puerto Rico and called it “one of the most corrupt places on earth,” reported Reuters.

Trump’s comments had come before a hurricane skirted the island territory. At the time Puerto Rico was struggling to recover from storms that hit it in 2017 in which nearly 3,000 people had died. 

Why It Matters: U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that damages from Fiona will cost “in the billions,” according to the Times.

In 2017, the Caribbean island was left without power for months after grappling back-to-back with hurricanes. The Trump administration's response to Maria was criticized, with the former president questioning the official death toll, noted Reuters.

In 2020, the Trump administration placed restrictions on relief funding amounting to billions citing corruption concerns, according to the Times.

On Monday, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi said, “We want to be treated in the same way as our fellow Americans in times of need.”

An upcoming book revealed that Trump, while President, had suggested the U.S. swap Puerto Rico for Greenland. 

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