Appearing on CNN, Friday morning, New York City Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito accused President Donald Trump of being a racist who treats Puerto Ricans as "others" and not as Americans.
Speaking with host Chris Cuomo on New Day, Mark-Viverito addressed Trump's comments that FEMA workers can't help Puerto Rican survivors of Hurricane Maria "forever" by noting that many victims of the hurricane have yet to see any help.
"Did you come back from Puerto Rico saying, 'Boy, that's a success story?'" host Cuomo asked.
"Definitely not," the lawmaker replied. "It is outrageous and what I call benign neglect. It is level of disinterest to deal with this in a focused way. We don't have the level of resources when I look at it at face value in the research and looking at the details. But what Florida received after Irma, what Texas received after Harvey, the level of focus and attention, FEMA resources."
Prodded by the CNN host, Mark-Viverito got around to the root cause of Trump's seeming indifference to the island of Puerto Rico.
"I've been saying that the messages from this present have been sadistic," the lawmaker explained. "When it comes to the people of Puerto Rico, we have to be very clear -- we are being treated like second-class citizens despite the fact that we have had U.S. citizenship for over 100 years."
"I heard some of the interviews with Republican congressmen, and they see us as others, as somehow foreigners. That they don't have a responsibility to these U.S. citizens, some of whom have given their lives for this country." she continued. "There is a real double standard which I think has racist undertones."
Watch the video below via CNN:
