8/9/2018

PUERTO RICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Less than two weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, President Donald Trump took to the island to praise the federal officials in charge of the recovery efforts and declare they could be ‘proud’ that the death toll had climbed to just 16 people…Two weeks later, he gave his administration a 10 out of 10 for its response in Puerto Rico. Even then, Trump’s comments struck many as tone deaf. The US territory’s 3.5 million residents still lacked access to potable water and nearly all the island lacked electricity. Local officials and others on the ground were already sounding the alarm and critics were calling attention to an all-too-slow pace of the recovery efforts. But now, the government of Puerto Rico is revising the 64-person death toll it declared in December, estimating that more than 1,400 people died as a result of the devastating hurricane — or 400 short of Hurricane Katrina’s death toll — raising questions about the effectiveness of the federal response to the hurricane and its aftermath. White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Thursday [8-9-18] the Trump administration is continuing to aid Puerto Rico.”

-Jeremy Diamond, “New Puerto Rico death toll amplifies Trump disconnect on relief efforts,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, August 9, 2018 4:32 pm