Trump Campaign Launches Ad Criticizing Biden’s Voting Record On Puerto Rico

President Trump’s re-election campaign launched a new Spanish-language ad Tuesday aimed at Puerto Rican voters.

The 30-second spot touts his response and recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria and criticizes his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his voting record on Puerto Rico.

The ad comes days after the Biden campaign launched its own ad attacking Trump for his response to Maria, which struck the island three years ago Sunday and caused more than $90 billion in damages and 2,975 deaths.

The Trump ad, titled “Rebuilding,” highlights what it called the president’s "historic investments” of relief funds to the island.

The ad also touted $13 billion in grants from the Federal Emergency Management Administration for the reconstruction of the electrical network and educational facilities announced last week, days before the third anniversary of Hurricane Maria.

“Puerto Ricans can count on Trump,” states the ad.

Trump was criticized by Central Florida Puerto Ricans, including U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, for spending only a portion of the more than $40 billion allocated to the island in 2018 for Maria recovery.

According to the Center for Investigative Journalism Puerto Rico has been approved to use only 16% of the $20.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds linked to Hurricane Maria due to restrictions from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of that amount, only 2% has been used.

The island’s financial woes began long before the Category 4 storm ravaged the US territory, claims Trumpu00b4s ad. “Biden destroyed the island when he took 936 from us.”

The Internal Revenue Code: Section 936, which provided tax breaks for companies, mostly in the pharmaceutical industry, was eliminated in 1996 when Democratic President Bill Clinton signed a law for its gradual elimination over a 10-year period.

“Like a typical politician, Joe Biden pretends to care about Boricuas when he needs our votes, but during his five decades in Washington he never did anything for us except vote to eliminate Section 936, which collapsed our economy," said Juan Carlos Benítez, Latinos for Trump Advisory Board. “Thousands of Puerto Ricans lost their jobs and our top industries were sent to China thanks to Biden’s failed policies."

“The only thing that Joe Biden has to offer Puerto Ricans are higher taxes and weakness on crime,” he said.

On Sunday, the third anniversary of Hurricane Maria. Biden’s campaign released “Prohibido Olvidar” starring Marc Anthony.

The campaign ad in Spanish and English points to Trump’s “failed response” to Hurricane Maria, highlighting the 2,995 estimated deaths after the cyclone. “It’s forbidden to forget that in moments of true darkness, when the cries for help fell on deaf ears,” Anthony narrates. “We were the ones that stood tall to rebuild.”

Biden visited Kissimmee on Sept. 15 along with Puerto Rican stars Ricky Martín and Luis Fonsi in an effort to win over Puerto Rican voters in the diaspora.

He also unveiled his plan for the reconstruction of the island that includes “accelerating access to the funds promised for reconstruction while ensuring transparency and accountability for public funds,” reads the former vice president’s platform.

The proposal includes the elimination of “onerous restrictions unique to Puerto Rico that limit its access to Disaster Relief funds from Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)” and the forgiveness of “disaster relief loans. to the towns/municipalities of Puerto Rico so that they can recover faster”.

icotto@orlandosentinel.com

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