Trump Suggests Puerto Rico's Debt May Need to Be 'Wiped Out'

[Swordsmyth]

President Donald Trump suggested that the government debt accumulated by bankrupt Puerto Rico would need to be wiped clean to help the island recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.
“We are going to work something out. We have to look at their whole debt structure,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News Tuesday. “You know they owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street. We’re gonna have to wipe that out. That’s gonna have to be - you know, you can say goodbye to that. I don’t know if it’s Goldman Sachs but whoever it is, you can wave good-bye to that.”

More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-suggests-puerto-ricos-debt-023705148.html

[enhanced_deficit]

Mayor Cruz just did not know how to get it done:

rollingstone
Sep 26, 2017 - Under President Trump, Puerto Rico is suffering federal neglect that recalls the worst of ... mode, according the the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz. ... Trump, she added, "Let's not talk about the debt, the freaking debt!

But Jennifer Gonzalez did:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZOGLuzMGPg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZOGLuzMGPg

[Dr.3D]

Maybe if the U.S. would see about wiping out it's debt, they could help Puerto Rico better.

[Dr.3D]

It's a wonder nobody has said anything about Trump, manspreading in that video.

[dude58677]

Peurto Rico is a U.S. National territory just like Guam so it is actually under US jurisdiction.

[juleswin]

It's a wonder nobody has said anything about Trump, manspreading in that video.

Give it time Doctor, they need some time to come up with their BS.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZk5laByVUw

[Zippyjuan]

Trump also complained that Puerto Rico would add to the US debt. Today, they said no debt wiped out. The value of Puerto Rican bonds dropped sharply when Trump said he might forgive their debt.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-04/trump-suggests-puerto-rico-s-debt-may-need-to-be-wiped-out


No U.S. Bailout for Puerto Rican Debt, Trump’s Budget Chief Says

President Donald Trump’s budget chief said not to take literally the president’s suggestion that Puerto Rico’s debt would be “wiped out,” even as the territory’s bonds plunged to a record low on Wednesday: 32 cents on the dollar.

"I think what you heard the president say is that Puerto Rico is going to have to figure out a way to solve its debt problem,” Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House budget office, said in an interview Wednesday.

Puerto Rico, ravaged by Hurricane Maria on Sept. 20, is dealing with a disaster worsened by the long-term debt crisis that led it to declare a form of bankruptcy this year. The commonwealth’s government for decades has been plagued by budget deficits and borrowed $74 billion in a spree enabled by a yield-hungry Wall Street.

After the president suggested that the debt must be erased, a benchmark general-obligation bond due in 2035 plunged 12 cents on the dollar Wednesday morning. The price later rebounded.

On Wednesday morning, Mulvaney tempered Trump’s comments in a Fox News interview after the president surveyed damage on the island.

“We are going to work something out” on Puerto Rico’s debt, Trump said.

“We have to look at their whole debt structure,” Trump said. “They owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street. We’re going to have to wipe that out. That’s going to have to be -- you know, you can say goodbye to that. I don’t know if it’s Goldman Sachs but whoever it is, you can wave goodbye to that.”

Mulvaney said Wednesday that the administration is devising an aid package to send to Congress that will deal with rebuilding and repair.

“We are not going to bail them out,” he said. “We are not going to pay off those debts. We are not going to bail out those bond holders.”

Mulvaney didn’t directly address the president’s suggestion that the debt simply wouldn’t be paid.

Trump’s ‘Opinion’

Puerto Rico began defaulting on its debts two years ago, seeking to avoid Draconian budget cuts officials said would deal another blow to an already shrinking economy. With nearly half of its 3.4 million residents living in poverty, the government sought protection from creditors in May.

At a press conference in San Juan on Wednesday, Governor Ricardo Rossello dismissed Trump’s remarks and said Puerto Rico will resolve its debt through the bankruptcy process.

[Zippyjuan]

Trump: Our hurricane (Katrina) was bigger. More dead. What was your body count?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/puerto-rico-gov-plans-to-push-trump-for-federal-aid-package-1507047418


Trump Cites Storm’s Budget Impact in Puerto Rico Visit

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—President Donald Trump commended rescue workers and passed out supplies to storm victims as he toured Puerto Rico on Tuesday, while also saying that the costs tied to Hurricane Maria have “thrown our budget a little out of whack,” drawing rebukes from Democrats who called the remarks callous.

During a visit to the island on Tuesday, Mr. Trump suggested that the death toll might have been much higher if not for exemplary rescue and recovery efforts. Officials told Mr. Trump in a briefing that 16 people had died in the storm. After he left, Puerto Rico’s governor announced that the tally had more than doubled, rising to 34, and would likely increase.

Mr. Trump drew a contrast with another deadly hurricane, Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 and killed more than 1,800 people. The president said that while “every death is a horror…you can be very proud of all your people—all of our people working together.”

The president’s visit came as the administration is expected to request more hurricane relief funding from Congress this week, according to Republican congressional aides, to replenish disaster-relief coffers as the nation recovers from being hit by three hurricanes in two months.

In their tour, the president and his wife, Melania, met with Puerto Rican officials before getting a firsthand look at the storm damage. While introducing his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, the president noted that the hurricane has strained the government’s coffers.

“I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack,” the president said. “Because we’ve spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico, and that’s fine. We’ve saved a lot of lives.”

Your hurricane was puny compared to ours.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/politics/trump-puerto-rico-katrina-deaths/index.html


Trump contrasts Puerto Rico death toll to 'a real catastrophe like Katrina'

President Donald Trump told Puerto Rican officials Tuesday they should be "very proud" that hundreds of people haven't died after Hurricane Maria as they did in "a real catastrophe like Katrina."

"Every death is a horror," Trump said, "but if you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina and you look at the tremendous -- hundreds and hundreds of people that died -- and you look at what happened here with, really, a storm that was just totally overpowering ... no one has ever seen anything like this."

"What is your death count?" he asked as he turned to Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. "17?"

"16," Rosselló answered.

"16 people certified," Trump said. "Sixteen people versus in the thousands. You can be very proud of all of your people and all of our people working together. Sixteen versus literally thousands of people. You can be very proud. Everybody watching can really be very proud of what's taken place in Puerto Rico."



I guess Puerto Rico doesn't qualify as a "real catastrophe".

[Zippyjuan]

"Flashlights? You don't need flashlights" (even though only seven percent of the island has electricity)

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/353689-trump-tells-puerto-ricans-they-dont-need-flashlights-while-most-of


Trump hands out supplies during Puerto Rico visit

President Trump handed out supplies to Puerto Ricans during his visit to the hurricane-ravaged island on Tuesday, including paper towels, flashlights and rice.

Trump handed the supplies out to hurricane victims at Calvary Chapel in Guaynabo.

Video and press reports from the event show Trump tossing paper towels into the crowd. He is also seen handing out flashlights.

“Flashlights? You don’t need ‘em anymore,” Trump said. “You don’t need ‘em.”

It was unclear what exactly Trump meant when he suggested people no longer needed flashlights. More than 90 percent of the island remains without electricity following the Category 4 storm, which severely damaged Puerto Rico's electrical grid.

[enhanced_deficit]

Trump also complained that Puerto Rico would add to the US debt. Today, they said no debt wiped out. The value of Puerto Rican bonds dropped sharply when Trump said he might forgive their debt.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-04/trump-suggests-puerto-rico-s-debt-may-need-to-be-wiped-out

This could be bad news for Israeli causes if following reports are factual. Does Trump think before he speaks.. or is he a fake zionist?


Puerto Rico bondholders on Wall Street are 'suicidal,' fear government will wipe them out (https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/04/puerto-rico-bondholders-on-wall-street-are-suicidal.html)

Billionaire Seth Klarman, donor to Israel causes, is one of the largest holders of Puerto Rican debt

October 4, 2017

https://i0.wp.com/israelpalestinenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SethKlarman.jpg?resize=609%2C343&ssl=1 (https://israelpalestinenews.org/billionaire-seth-klarman-donor-israel-causes-one-largest-holders-puerto-rican-debt/)
Puerto Rico has suffered under a borrowing crisis in which creditors scooped up bonds on the cheap and then procured an astronomical payout. This has led to widespread suffering. Seth Klarman, whose hedge fund has one of the largest holdings of Puerto Rican debt, has donated through the years to numerous Israel lobby groups that enable Palestinian suffering.
David Dayen reports in the The Intercept (https://theintercept.com/2017/10/03/we-can-finally-identify-one-of-the-largest-holders-of-puerto-rican-debt/)that Boston hedge fund billionaire Seth Klarman is the owner of one of the largest holdings of Puerto Rican debts (read full article below). This has been kept secret until now.
Dayen explains that Puerto Rico “has been mired in a borrowing crisis for years… Many [creditors] scooped up bonds on the cheap, seeking an astronomical payout by forcing the island to pay them back at par (or 100 cents on the dollar). This has led to widespread suffering.”
Klarman is widely known to use his wealth to support Israel causes.

https://israelpalestinenews.org/billionaire-seth-klarman-donor-israel-causes-one-largest-holders-puerto-rican-debt/


Though entirely different circustances but there were reports of various Israeli welfare projects shutdown after infamous Bernie Maddoff wall street scam wiped out many peoples wass street investments few years back.






It's a wonder nobody has said anything about Trump, manspreading in that video.

Give it time Doctor, they need some time to come up with their BS.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZk5laByVUw


Let me first of alll say that elegant stance of America's Firster Lady should be commended, very lady like.

As for Trump, some body language experts do not see him winner in all the international body language battles though others have done worse in their bows to kings with piles of money.
He may have dropped the ball in this seating arrangement.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1J058vLKdw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1J058vLKdw

[parocks]

Get Klarman.