The people of Puerto Rico are responding to Trump‘s claims that 3,000 people didn’t die in Hurricane Maria by calling the president worthless and crazy.
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CNN’s Bill Weir said:
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I spent time this morning with one very personal story. If you remember our coverage from a year ago, you remember Miguel and Deanna. Their home had nearly been — completely crushed by a falling detention line. They said good-bye to each other, this couple of 50 years of marriage. But they survived. Miguel had half a vial of insulin in a powerless refrigerator. The V.A. Saw the report and got him insulin. But a few months later the stress, the fumes from the generator, Miguel passed away on their 50th anniversary. I went to check on his widow Deanna to see how she is doing. She told me FEMA sent her a check for $1700 but it was in her husband’s name so she gave it back. They offered 20 reimburse her for the funeral, and she denied it. There’s no profit motive.
She’s most emotional about the fact that the V.A. Gave her husband of 50 years a military honor at his funeral. They gave her the flag. She teared up when she talked about that because ultimately that’s all she wanted, was the respect deserved to a Vietnam veteran. And read I read her president trump‘s tweet today, she said how could he say something like that? How could he doubt that so many people died? It’s there, everyone knows it. He has no respect for people’s emotions. He’s worthless. He’s crazy.
And these are words from a woman very soft-spoken, abuela, a grandmother who I’m sure does not say these things lightly but for her, it’s not about getting her husband’s name on the official death toll, which it isn’t. Miguel, you could argue, should be on that list. It should be 2976 if we include him, but that doesn’t matter to her. All she wants is a little bit of compassion, a little bit of empathy, a little bit of respect for a Vietnam veteran.
Trump’s big lie about the Puerto Rico death toll only confirms his worthlessness
Worthless and crazy are two of the best terms that can be used to describe this president. He is worthless because he does nothing for the American people, and he is crazy because he denies basic facts and does not subscribe to reality. Trump is trying to use the same tactics as president that he used to build his brand and self-created mythology.
The problem is that a president can’t create their own mythology. The job is public. The American people see and feel what is happening. Trump can’t make thousands of deaths vanish in Puerto Rico, just like he can’t pretend away the fact that his tariffs are killing American jobs, or that he has hasn’t brought manufacturing back.
America needs a president, not a “worthless crazy” who is trying to convince the people that his fantasy life is real.
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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
