Trump tried to downplay the devastation by telling Puerto Ricans that their disaster wasn’t a real catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina.
Video:
Trump: Officials should be "proud" Hurricane Maria only killed 16, compared to a "real catastrophe" like Katrina https://t.co/aZS9GvwR0I pic.twitter.com/vwntsm9uQY
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 3, 2017
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The President said, “Every death is a horror, but if you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina, and you look at the tremendous — hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that died, and you look at what happened here, with really a storm that was just totally overpowering, nobody’s ever seen anything like this. What is your death count as of this moment? 17? 16 people certified, 16 people versus in the thousands.â€
To recap, Trump has gone to Puerto Rico to tell them that he is doing a great job, yell at Puerto Ricans for throwing his budget out of whack by getting hit with two massive hurricanes and that their devastation is not a real disaster.
The hurricane killed at least 16 people, according to the official death toll, however this death toll has not been updated by Puerto Rico for 6 days. A reporter with the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI) in San Juan estimates 60 confirmed deaths linked to the hurricane and possibly hundreds more to come, according to Vox.
Trump was desperate for good publicity out of this trip, but it has started off as a total nightmare. The President is showing his contempt for the people of the island. He is insulting US citizens and reminding anyone who is paying attention of the character and mental health issues that make him unfit for office.
Both the White House and Puerto Rico would have been better off if Trump had stayed at home plopped down on his couch watching Fox News. Trump is only making things worse, and the sooner he gets off of the island, the better it will be for Puerto Rico.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
