A video released Sunday evening by independent political action group Meidas Touch dubbed “Trump Kills Puerto Rico” has sparked the hashtag of the same name, #TrumpKillsPuertoRico, to one of the top trending spots on Twitter early Monday morning. The scathing video is in English with Spanish subtitles and includes video footage from Hurricane Maria that may be triggering.
The minute-long ad focuses on the death of at least 3,000 Americans in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria and the lack of action taken by the POTUS to provide necessary aid for American citizens. It’s possible that closer to 6,000 lives were lost as a result of the natural disaster. In addition to the senseless massive loss of life from Hurricane Maria, Trump’s legacy now includes over 200,000 Americans dying from COVID-19. The pandemic is disproportionately impacting Black and Brown communities.
Trump recently declared that he’s the best thing to ever happen to Puerto Rico. It’s been three years since Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc and Trump just recently released about $13 billion in aid to rebuild the electrical grid and repair schools in Puerto Rico.
The ‘Trump Kills Puerto Rico’ short film includes audio clips and Tweets of Trump denying the impact of the hurricane, his desire to switch the Island with Greenland during the deadliest storm Americans have faced in over a decade, and more. The video includes a reporter quoting a statement in which Trump called Puerto Rico dirty and said that Puerto Ricans are poor. The ad ends with Presidential hopeful Joe Biden saying, “We’re going to get up and honor the incredible contributions and service of Puerto Ricans.”
MeidasTouch was formed during the COVID-19 global pandemic to defeat Trump in 2020. Their anti-Trump videos garner attention from thousands of Twitter users. The #TrumpKillsPuertoRico ad is no exception—it’s already the number one trending item in at least five states and the original tweet with the video has been retweeted over 11,000 times in eight hours.