Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora recently spoke about why he missed a trip to the Trump White House after leading his team to the 2018 World Series title.
During an interview on “The Mayor's Office” podcast on Wednesday, Cora admitted he missed the meeting President Trump Because he wanted to give priority to his home country, Puerto Rico. When the Red Sox visited the White House in May 2019, Puerto Rico was still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, and Cora was not satisfied with the federal government's response.
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Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora was born in Puerto Rico. (Tommy Gilligan – USA TODAY Sports)
“One of the things that — I don’t regret it, but I think I should have been more clear — was visiting the White House,” Cora said. “I don't have anything against the president at that moment. It was Donald Trump at that moment, President Trump, but I felt like I was celebrating something at that point, while (Puerto Ricans) were still suffering, it was bad. I didn't feel comfortable doing that ”
Cora says he would have felt “embarrassed” to celebrate at the White House, given the state of his country at the time.
He continued: “We are part of the United States.” “It's amazing what they're doing for us — the funding, all of that — but there's still work to do. And I felt very embarrassed, like, 'Let's celebrate this at the White House' while so many people are suffering here.” People treated it like politics. No, what matters to me is sports and my family, right? I regret that I wasn't clear about it.
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The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the World Series in 2018. (AP)
In May 2019, Cora told reporters that the US government had done “some great things back home,” but added that “we still have a long way to go.”
“I'd rather not go. And, you know, just be consistent with everything,” Cora said then about skipping the White House visit.
Trump himself said his hurricane response was an “amazing success” in September 2018 while making remarks in the Oval Office.
“I think Puerto Rico has been incredibly successful,” Trump said. “I think the work that FEMA and law enforcement and everyone has done, working hand-in-hand with the governor of Puerto Rico, has been tremendous. I think Puerto Rico has had an amazing, unsung success.”
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Cora says he would have felt “embarrassed” to celebrate at the White House, given the state of his country at the time. (Photos by Kim Clement Neitzel-Imagine)
Hurricanes Irma Maria struck the island in September 2017. The last one The official death toll in August 2018 rose from an initial 64 to 2,975.
The updated figure came through an independent investigation ordered by the local government, prompting Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló to raise the official figure.
The Trump administration's efforts in Puerto Rico have received widespread criticism. But after visiting the island in September 2017, the president said Puerto Ricans were lucky the storm did not result in a disaster similar to the devastation Hurricane Katrina wreaked along the Gulf Coast in 2005.
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