With Hurricane Florence bearing down on the east coast, Donald Trump took a little time today to reflect on the “incredible unsung success” of his administration’s response to Hurricane Maria, the tropical storm that, at about this same time last year, decimated the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. “I think Puerto Rico was incredibly successful,” Trump told members of the White House press corps, seemingly unaware that as many as 2,975 people had lost their lives, and some survivors are still without power… Here, if you can stomach it, is Trump on his administration’s heroic response to Hurricane Maria.
"I actually think it was one of the best jobs," President Trump says of his administration's hurricane response in Puerto Rico, calling it an "incredible unsung success."
Last month, Puerto Rico increased its Hurricane Maria death toll estimate to 2,975. https://t.co/iWbOl0dIUt pic.twitter.com/LFFGdFyxMl
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 11, 2018
As for Hurricane Florence, which Donald Trump described as being “tremendously big and tremendously wet,” it’s projected to make landfall in the Carolinas on Thursday. And one hopes that the Trump administration does better in this instance than they did in Puerto Rico. I’m not optimistic, though… especially if what I’m reading this evening is true about the administration having just taken $10 million from the FEMA budget to construct additional ICE detention centers… Here, if you’ve yet to hear about this most recent turn of events, is a clip from the Rachel Maddow show this evening, where she talks about documents obtained by Senator Jeff Merkley, showing how the Trump administration has reallocated hurricane relief funds to more racist endeavors.
BREAKING: Trump admin moved millions of dollars from FEMA to ICE ahead of 2018 hurricane season.
Senator Merkley joins us now to discuss. pic.twitter.com/M2rIIi4hsh
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) September 12, 2018
Two more quick comments, while we’re at it.
First, it would appear that Puerto Rico’s Governor, unlike Donald Trump, does not see the U.S. response to Hurricane Maria as an incredible “success”.
And, second, is it really a surprise to anyone that we’re living in a hell world, where, every year, we’re watching more and more of our fellow citizens wash out to sea in what used to be called “hundred year storms”? I mean, when you elect a leader who, in spite of all the scientific evidence to the contrary, says that global climate change is a “Chinese hoax,” and chooses to prioritize coal mining over sustainable energy, this is what you get, right?