TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

A right-wing writer who crowdfunded $100,000 to repair the Puerto Rico home of AOC's grandmother says she declined to accept the money

A right-wing writer who crowdfunded $100,000 to repair the Puerto Rico home of AOC's grandmother says she declined to accept the money

The campaign, which launched after Ocasio-Cortez criticized failed disaster relief in Puerto Rico, was shut down by GoFundMe, Matt Walsh told Insider.

A right-wing writer crowdfunded over $100,000 after launching a campaign for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's grandmother.

Matt Walsh, a writer with conservative outlet the Daily Wire, began the GoFundMe on Friday after criticizing Ocasio-Cortez for "allowing" her grandma to live in dire conditions.

Ocasio-Cortez earlier this week tweeted out that her grandma is ill and hasn't yet received hurricane relief in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which hit the US territory more than three years ago. In her tweet slamming former President Donald Trump over delayed relief in Puerto Rico, the New York lawmaker shared photos showing bare living quarters with ceiling tiles peeling off and buckets set up around a room to catch dripping water.

"This is her home. Hurricane María relief hasn't arrived. Trump blocked relief $ for PR," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.


Walsh targeted Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist, by accusing her of "virtue-signaling" and living large while her family needs help.

"Shameful that you live in luxury while allowing your own grandmother to suffer in these squalid conditions," Walsh tweeted in response to Ocasio-Cortez.

Within hours of going live, Walsh's campaign reached its goal of $48,990. Ocasio-Cortez's grandmother has declined to accept the money, according to Walsh, who spoke with Insider. The campaign raised over $104,000 before GoFundMe shut it down, he said, and the money will be returned in full to each donor.

In a tweet in reply to Ocasio-Cortez, Walsh asked the New York rep to DM him details so he could send her grandma the raised funds.


Walsh told Insider AOC "ignored us" when he reached out over Twitter asking for the information to transfer funds over.

Walsh on Twitter wrote that GoFundMe in an email said the family has "made clear they will not be accepting the funds raised."

After Walsh started the GoFundMe, #HelpAbuela began trending on Twitter.

Ocasio-Cortez posted photos of her grandmother's home to illustrate the dire conditions in Puerto Rico post- Hurricane Maria. She faulted Trump for delaying and denying aid to the island after the catastrophic hurricane.

"What's happening to Puerto Ricans is systemic," she said in her tweet.


Ocasio-Cortez's office also didn't immediately respond to an email from Insider.

But in a tweet to Walsh, Ocasio-Cortez stressed that her grandma is doing okay and she is trying to raise awareness that Puerto Rico needs aid.

"My abuela is okay," she said. "But instead of only caring for mine & letting others suffer, I'm calling attention to the systemic injustices you seem totally fine w/ in having a US colony."

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×