A former Homeland Security official said this week that in addition to suggesting the U.S. sell Puerto Rico as the island territory was struggling to recover after Hurricane Maria, President Donald Trump proposed “trading” the territory for another island he had previously expressed interest in—Greenland.
Miles Taylor, who served as chief of staff to former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen from 2017 to 2019, told MSNBC that the president derided Puerto Rico as “dirty” and the people living there as “poor” a year after the hurricane devastated the island.
“The president’s talked before about wanting to purchase Greenland, but one time before we went down, he told us not only did he want to purchase Greenland, he actually said he wanted to see if we could sell Puerto Rico. Could we swap Puerto Rico for Greenland,” Taylor, who has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, told MSNBC Wednesday. “Because in his words Puerto Rico was dirty and the people were poor.” Continue reading.