Who is popular today?

THE Prime Minister said he felt personally disgusted and insulted by individuals on social media pushing a narrative that his daughter got special treatment to return to TT recently during the ongoing covid19 border lock-down. Dr Rowley replied to Newsday’s query about his daughter Dr Sonel Rowley-Stewart on Wednesday at the post-Cabinet briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s.
Minister of National Security Stuart Young vouched that Rowley had not raised the issue of his daughter’s return.
Rowley said he loves TT as the only country he has but was sometimes disgusted by the behaviour of some people, referring to those propagating the rumours.
He said he was the father of a daughter who was living in New York when there had been the centre of the worst of the covid19 pandemic.
“And I lived with that every night, every day, as I managed TT’s affairs.
“I am insulted at this point for some nameless, faceless social media creature to be causing you to be talking to me about my daughter ‘getting to the head of the line.’ No it wasn’t the head of the line, it was the end of the iguanas tail.
“She came home on the last flight that could have brought her home in time for Christmas. No favours. She didn’t jump any queue. Desperately wanted to come home to her family during the year and had to stay right there.”
Rowley said while she was still in New York, he had “watched the numbers” alluding to rising covid19 cases in that city.
“She is taking the train, taking the Uber, mixing with people, in the hospital, and I’m saying ‘there but for the grace of God go I.’” Rowley said he saw her on Tuesday for the first time since her return. “So all those who feel they have a story with that, you’re on your own with that.”
Young supported Rowley's remarks.
He said, “I have wanted to address this mischief for some time now and state categorically to everyone that at no point in time did the Prime Minister have any conversation with me as the Minister of National Security with respect to granting of any exemption for his daughter.”
Young said Rowley-Stewart had applied on November 4 and had been in the queue like everyone else. “Persons who were looking to come home for Christmas got their exemptions way before her and the rest is history. But there was absolutely no conversation with me by the Prime Minister requesting anything at any point in time.”
Rowley said he had expected certain people to try to create an issue, as he welcomed Young as making “a statement of indisputable fact.”
In March at a post-Cabinet briefing, Rowley had referred to his daughter being in New York amid the pandemic.
Otherwise Young said TT has stopped direct flights from the UK, and the next flight to TT would be from Barbados on January 6, 2021. He said to date he had received 17,211 applications to enter TT of which 9,557 were granted. He expected a dedicated repatriation flight of 150 farm workers from Canada to TT on December 28.
The post Rowley disgusted by favouritism claims on daughter’s return appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.