California Sends Emergency Support to Puerto Rico Ahead of Tropical Storm
On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom of California announced plans to send emergency resources and personnel to Puerto Rico, which is over 3,000 miles away, in anticipation of an impending tropical storm.
The reaction on social media was quite emotional, with many voices chiming in to express their thoughts.
In defense of his actions, Newsom pointed out that he had previously sent resources to areas affected by fires within California back in January. However, this isn’t a complete picture. He did deploy some resources ahead of severe wind events in Southern California, but both state and local governments didn’t manage to pre-position firefighting resources at certain locations.
There’s a perception that Newsom sometimes overlooks crises in his own state, and even travels out of the country during critical times. For instance, back in March 2023, he reportedly left California during a blizzard emergency for a personal trip to Baja California.
In fact, Newsom declared a state of emergency just last Wednesday, following a storm that left many residents and visitors stranded in California’s mountainous regions. After declaring this state of emergency, he departed on Thursday and returned on Sunday around noon. Interestingly, when he stated he was working on Sunday, a photo showed him engaged in work later in the evening.
While he was away, communities faced significant shortages of food, medicine, and fuel. The California National Guard units that had been mobilized struggled to reach several isolated mountain areas.
Newsom has faced scrutiny for previous outings, including a vacation in Montana in 2022, despite enacting travel bans to socially conservative regions. He utilized state security to disregard these guidelines. In 2021, he spent Thanksgiving at a villa in Cabo San Lucas rented from a Russian oligarch, who had a history of tax fraud. The year before, during the pandemic, he dined at an upscale restaurant in Napa Valley after urging Californians to avoid dining out, which triggered a recall campaign against him.
Most recently, Newsom left the state again while wildfires persisted to explore presidential possibilities in South Carolina.
While California doesn’t have much experience dealing with hurricanes, Puerto Rico is significant in the presidential nomination cycle. Other states also have vested interests in the Puerto Rican voter base as they prepare for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination campaign.
