Democrat firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is amping up her call for the White House to address climate change – comparing the nation’s swift response to war with its slow reaction to natural disasters.
The freshman congresswoman compared the government’s responses to 9/11 with the nearly lagging response to Puerto Rico, still reeling in the wake of 2017’s Hurricane Maria.
‘In the events of September 11, 2001, thousands of Americans died in the largest terrorist attack on US soil and our national response, whether we agree with it or not, was to go to war in one then eventually two countries,’ she said during an ‘All In’ town hall at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx on Friday, hosted by MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.
‘3,000 Americans died in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Where is our response?’ she added as the crowd erupted with applause.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez amped up her campaign for the White House to address climate change during an ‘All In’ town hall at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx on Friday
During the talk moderated by MSNBC host Chris Hayes she defended the Green New Deal and compared the government’s urgent response to war and conflict to its slow approach to natural disasters such as Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017
‘3,000 Americans died in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Where is our response?’ she asked, comparing the lives lost in the natural disaster to the government’s response to 9/11, another tragedy that saw the loss of thousands of American lives
The Trump administration has been heavily criticized for its slow and ineffective response to the national emergency on the U.S. island.
After FEMA announced the death toll on the island was nearly 3,000, Trump tweeted denying the number.
‘3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000…’ he posted on Twitter.
The New York Rep said on Friday that she’s seen the U.S. government mobilize its resources in dire situations, principally when it comes to conflict and war.
‘Historically speaking, we have mobilized our entire economy around war. But I thought to myself it doesn’t have to be that way, especially when our greatest existential threat is climate change,’ AOC said.
‘And so to get us out of this situation, to revamp our economy to create dignified jobs for working Americans, to guarantee health care and elevate our educational opportunities and attainment, we will have to mobilize our entire economy around saving ourselves and taking care of this planet,’ she added, tying climate change back to her failed deal proposal.
‘Historically speaking, we have mobilized our entire economy around war. But I thought to myself it doesn’t have to be that way, especially when our greatest existential threat is climate change,’ AOC said during the town hall panel on Friday. The devastation of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico pictured above in September 2017
She noted that the U.S. is quick and effective in responding to threats like conflict and war as with 9/11, but ignores other threats like climate change. The rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center pictured above
AOC went on to defend the Green New Deal, her cosponsored proposed stimulus program, and reject the Republican criticism of it.
‘I didn’t expect them to make total fools of themselves. I expected a little more nuance, and I expected a little more “concern trolling,”‘ she said.
She went on to defend her plan, which calls for a full transition to renewable energy by 2030, saying it economically and politically feasible.
‘We don’t have time for five years of a half-baked, watered-down position. This is urgent, and to think that we have time is such a privileged and removed-from-reality attitude that we cannot tolerate,’ she said.
The Backlash: Not everyone agreed with the Congress freshman’s statements
Many were quick to note that the Trump administration did respond to the Hurricane, but its efforts were rendered ineffective due to disorganization on the island
This Twitter user said that the government pursues war for its own economic interests
Some critics hit back that the ‘common denominator’ between 9/11 and Hurricane Maria isn’t lost American lives
‘So this issue is not just about our climate. First and foremost we need to save ourselves. Period. There will be no future for the Bronx. There will be no livable future for generations coming, for any part of this country in a way that is better than the lot that we have today if we don’t address this issue urgently and on the scale of the problem,’ AOC added.
AOC told the town hall attendees that she hopes the initiative can at least spark conversation in D.C. about the dire reality of climate change and how to use the American economy as a way to tackle it in a manner similar to the government’s head-on approach to the Great Depression and World War II.