Energy
Trump Challenges Puerto Rico Death Toll Estimates
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President Donald Trump challenged numbers regarding Puerto Rico’s death toll in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, tweeting Thursday morning that the higher death count was orchestrated by Democrats.
3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018
…..This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018
Hurricane Maria smashed into Puerto Rico in September 2017, and is regarded as one of the island’s worst natural disasters. Originally, the official death toll from the hurricane was very low. However, that number climbed dramatically in the following months, with new estimates placing the number of deaths at around 3,000. Democrats — some of whom are eyeing a run for higher office — have placed blame on the Trump administration’s relief efforts.
The president received criticism for calling the federal government’s response to the hurricane on Tuesday “an incredible unsung” success.
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