Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said at the time that he felt it would be “awkward” to celebrate after winning the 2018 World Series while his native Puerto Rico was still suffering from Hurricane Maria. He said he had decided to decline President Donald Trump's invitation to the White House.
cola said mayor's office Podcast host Sean Casey said Wednesday that he had “nothing against” President Trump but felt he was “celebrating something at that stage.” [Puerto Ricans] I was still suffering, it was the worst. ” Visit to the White House occurred May 9, 2019.
cola explained:
One thing I don't regret, but I think I should have made more clear, was visiting the White House. …At this point, I have nothing against the president. At that moment, it was Donald Trump, President Trump, but at that stage I felt like I was celebrating something, [Puerto Ricans] Still suffering, it was bad. I didn't feel comfortable doing that.
Watch interview here:
MLB manager praises the U.S., calls what “they” have done for Puerto Rico “amazing,” and appears to lament that people took his decision to refuse to visit the White House as political. It was. Cora insisted it was actually about sports and family, saying of Puerto Rico and the Hurricanes:
We are part of the United States. …What they did for us was great, including the funding, but there was still work to be done. And it felt very awkward, like, “Let's celebrate this at the White House,'' while so many people are suffering here. People took it like politics. No, what I want to do is sports and family, right? I'm sorry that I didn't understand it well.
Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017 as a “high-end Category 4 hurricane,” according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). report The 2023 hurricane was “the third costliest hurricane in U.S. history.”
President Trump has committed “every resource of the federal government” to the relief of victims, and he and first lady Melania Trump also said traveled On October 3, 2017, he traveled to Puerto Rico, where he was “briefed on the status of relief efforts and met with residents affected by Hurricane Maria.”
Hurricane Maria disaster relief efforts have been mired in controversy in the months and years following the storm, culminating in 2020 when relief supplies earmarked for survivors were found in unused warehouses. , the head of Puerto Rico's disaster agency and two other employees were fired.
fox news reported Commenting on the controversy over the actual death toll after the Puerto Rican government “increased the official death toll in August 2018 from an original 64 deaths to 2,975,” he said:
hurricane Irma Maria then hit the island in September 2017. The latter is In August 2018, the official death toll increased from an initial 64 to 2,975.
President Trump tweeted that “Democrats” should increase the death toll from hurricanes and add people who died from old age or other causes to the list to make themselves look as bad as possible. ” Trump tweeted.
The two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico did not kill 3,000 people. When I left the island, between 6 and 18 people had died after the storm hit. It didn't increase much over time. Much later, they started reporting much larger numbers, like 3,000.
…This is what the Democrats did to make me look as bad as possible when I succeeded in raising billions of dollars to rebuild Puerto Rico. Please add people who have passed away due to old age or other reasons to the list. bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!
A day after Trump posted the tweet, Cora criticized Trump's comments, calling them “disrespectful.” tell Reporter: “I don't agree with a lot of what he says about us.'' [Puerto Rico]and that Trump's “tweeting to about 3,000 people and being efficient is actually disrespectful to our country.” That's how we see it. I know he probably doesn't feel that way. ”
When asked by reporters about Trump's tweets, Cora responded:
“It's kind of frustrating that that topic keeps coming up. What's the point? Honestly, you know?” Cora told reporters. “And I respect him. He's the president of the United States, but I disagree with a lot of the things he says about us.”
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“I hate it when people politicize it. It's about people. People who went through this know what happened,” Cora said. “Nineteen percent of our population is seniors. That's seniors, put it that way. And the effects of September 16th, rain and wind and whatever else happened, probably 18 people died. But people don't talk about the aftereffects: no food, no water, no communication, no medicine. , then something like this happened. And one thing is for sure, the government helped us. We feel that they helped us. That was enough. I don't know if it was enough, I don't know if it was enough. One thing is for sure: the Red Sox helped. [so did] There are many people in America who are still helping us, such as the Cubs, Pirates, and Houston Astros. Tweeting to about 3,000 people to be efficient is actually disrespectful to the motherland. That's how we see it. I know he probably doesn't feel that way. ”
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“And I have to say thank you for helping us. He went there and did what he did. I hate to talk about politics and stuff, but this is more than politics. I think it's about a country that really suffered,'' Cora said. “We're still — you can see the hurricanes swarming.” [in the Carolinas]And everyone is panicking. It won't be easy, but one thing is for sure, and as I said before, I'm proud: we're standing on our own two feet. Do you need help? Yes, I do. we know that. But we got through it. We are not where we were, but we will be there. And it's only a matter of time. ”
In August 2024, Red Sox outfielder Jalen Duran apologized for yelling an anti-gay slur at a fan who heckled him during Boston's loss to the Houston Astros.
