Trump Denies Almost 3,000 Died In Puerto Rico, Falsely Claims Democrats Inflated Data

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Updated at 12:15 p.m. ET

President Trump denied the death toll of nearly 3,000 from hurricanes Maria and Irma, which swept across Puerto Rico a year ago, in a series of tweets Thursday morning.

"3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico," he tweeted. "When I left the island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths."

Trump then blamed Democrats for the figures, "to make me look as bad as possible."

A study conducted by The Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University determined the death toll to be 2,975, a figure accepted by Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, and far beyond the previous official count of 64.

FEMA Administrator Brock Long wrote in a letter to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts that there were 2,431 applications for funeral assistance from Puerto Rico as of July 30. Just 75 have been approved by the Trump administration so far because of eligibility questions.

The president's tweets came as the government prepares for Hurricane Florence's impact on the Carolinas and set off a storm of criticism on Twitter. Chef José Andrés, whose charity fed thousands on the island in the aftermath of the storm, said Trump is "the face of no shame."

Another Trump critic, and a target of his tweets, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, tweeted, "Trump is so vain he thinks this is about him."

Some Republicans also criticized the president's tweet. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for the U.S. Senate in a state where many Puerto Ricans moved after the devastating hurricanes, tweeted that he disagrees with Trump and that "an independent study said thousands were lost and Gov. Rosselló agreed. I've been to Puerto Rico 7 times & saw devastation firsthand. The loss of any life is tragic," Scott continued, "the extent of lives lost as a result of Maria is heart wrenching."

The campaign of Rep. Ron DeSantis, a strong ally of Trump's who is the GOP nominee for Florida governor, said in a statement, "[DeSantis] doesn't believe any loss of life has been inflated."

And House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said, "I have no reason to dispute these numbers."

Ryan said the numbers were "a function of a devastating storm that hit an isolated island," adding, "that's no one's fault."

On Tuesday, Trump claimed his administration's efforts in Puerto Rico were "an unsung success," despite criticism that the federal response to the storms was slow. Some homes had their power restored only this month, a year after the hurricane.</s>Donald Trump has bragged his handling of the preparations for Hurricane Florence is getting 'tremendous accolades' - even though the storm has not hit yet.

Residents along the south-eastern coast of the US have been boarding up their properties, stockpiling supplies and some have left their homes as the Category 2 storm heads toward land.

Many residents in the Carolina states have said they have little trust in the authorities and fear they would not get much support from central government should the area be devastated by the hurricane, given the response to the devastation caused by Maria to Puerto Rico last year.

But yesterday President Trump claimed politicians and people on the ground were praising the preparations made by his administration.

He said during a reception for Congressional Medal of Honor recipients at the White House: 'We're getting tremendous accolades from politicians and the people but we are ready.'

The president added the hurricane is going to be 'one of the biggest ever to hit our country' but said his staff are closely coordinating with state and local officials in the Carolinas Georgia and Virginia.

Up to 1.7m residents on the eastern seaboard have been scrambling to evacuate their homes as government officials warned the hurricane would deliver a 'Mike Tyson punch' to South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

As many as 3 million people could lose electricity as a result of the storm.

Trump urged people to take seriously the threat of what may be the biggest storm to hit the East Coast in decades.

He added: 'Get out of its way. Don't play games with it. It's a big one.'

Trump is keen to show his team are better prepared than during Hurricane Maria, which killed nearly 3,000 people last September.

He has been defending his handling of the devastating storm.

Trump tweeted yesterday: 'We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida, and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan. We are ready for the big one that is coming!'

But Puerto Rican Democratic Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is running for a House of Representatives seat from New York, criticized Trumps response to the disaster.

She tweeted: 'The 1 year anniversary of Hurricane María is next week. Some of my PR family JUST got power a few weeks ago. People are developing respiratory issues partly due to airborne fungal spores from lack of proper cleanup. The admin’s response to Puerto Rico has been a disaster.'

Yesterday it emerged an estimated 20,000 pallets of water bottles were left sitting on tarmac at Puerto Rico's José Aponte de la Torre Airport airport for nearly a year.</s>Trump says 3,000 did not die in Puerto Rico hurricane, claims Democrats manipulated numbers

An independent study, commissioned by the island's government, found that an estimated 2,975 people died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.</s>U.S. President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to deny a report that 3,000 people died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017.

“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.” Trump wrote on Twitter.

While the storm was directly and immediately responsible for a smaller number of deaths, an independent report placed the number of deaths blamed on the hurricane at 3,000. That includes deaths as a result of infrastructure failures that came as a result of the hurricane.

He also said the Democrats were “trying to make [him] look bad” by reporting the high numbers of deaths.

READ MORE: Trump’s boasts about ‘great’ hurricane response in Puerto Rico slammed as ‘blatantly false’

“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!” he wrote.

The report was commissioned by the Puerto Rican government and compiled by researchers with the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.

READ MORE: Death toll from Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria raised from 64 to almost 3,000

The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital, slammed Trump for the comments almost immediately.

“This is what denial following neglect looks like: Mr Pres in the real world people died on your watch,” Carmen Yulin Cruz said on Twitter. “YOUR LACK OF RESPECT IS APPALLING!”

She also said Trump was trying to bully Puerto Rico with his tweets and called him “delusional, paranoid, and unhinged from any sense of reality.”

“Trump is so vain he thinks this is about him. NO IT IS NOT,” she wrote.

Hurricane Maria hit on Sept. 20, 2017, about two weeks after Hurricane Irma hit the island.

Trump visited the island on Oct. 3, when the death toll was listed at 16, and he congratulated the island on avoiding “a real catastrophe like Katrina.”

But just after he left Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello updated the death toll to 34, nearly doubling it, saying 19 people died as a direct result of the storm and the others died as an indirect result.

As the days went by, the death toll kept increasing, eventually reaching 64.

In mid-August, the island dramatically upped that number to 1,400 people, saying the additional deaths resulted from the effects of a storm that led to a “cascading failures” in infrastructure across the island of 3.3 million people. (Maria devastated the island’s power grid and roads, making delivering help to those in need very difficult.)

Later in August, the aforementioned independent report put the death toll of the 2017 storm at nearly 3,000 people — most of whom died after the storm due to complications from widespread power outages and water shortages. Rossello officially updated the island’s death toll with the new information.

But Trump has continued to praise his own government’s response to the disaster in Puerto Rico.

On Tuesday, when asked if there were lessons to be learned from the 2017 storm ahead of this year’s hurricane season, Trump called the response to Maria “one of the best jobs that’s ever been done with respect to what this is all about.”

“The job that FEMA, and law enforcement and everybody did working along with the governor in Puerto Rico, I think was tremendous,” Trump added. “I think that Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success.”

WATCH: Latest news videos as U.S. braces for Hurricane Florence</s>An independent study found that 2,975 people died in the six months after Hurricane Maria, leading Puerto Rico’s governor in late August to raise the official death toll for the disaster.

But with another hurricane bearing down on North Carolina Thursday morning, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to argue, without evidence, that “3,000 people did not die” and that the numbers were made up by his political opponents to make him look bad.

“When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths,” Trump tweeted. “As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3,000.”

The official death toll has been contested since the hurricane struck in the fall of 2017. In the immediate aftermath, Puerto Rico officials had said that only 64 died from the storm, but news reports indicated that many more had died as a result of problems caused by the hurricane.

In August, researchers with the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University released a study into deaths caused both directly and indirectly by the hurricane which came up with the 3,000 figure.

Trump has also argued that the government’s response to Hurricane Maria an “unsung success” and arguing it was unappreciated because Puerto Rico is “an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan.”

However, an internal report from the Federal Emergency Management Agency released in July found that the agency failed to prepare properly for Maria or provide enough supplies to the island.</s>WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump questioned a report Thursday saying that nearly 3,000 people died as a result of the catastrophic hurricane that hit Puerto Rico last year, calling it an effort by Democrats to discredit him.

Trump provided no evidence to back up his efforts to cast doubt on the report, commissioned by Puerto Rico's government, that examined the deaths caused by Hurricane Maria. Nor did he offer evidence that his political opponents had worked to skew it.

"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," Trump tweeted. "If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!"

More: Donald Trump calls Puerto Rico response an 'unsung success,' despite nearly 3,000 dead

More: Florence: Hurricane poses new test for Trump as he brushes off criticism over Puerto Rico. 'We're ready'

More: Nearly 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria

As his team braces for Hurricane Florence to hit the east coast, Trump has praised his previous responses to deadly storms – including Puerto Rico.

Trump's Thursday morning tweets focused on a George Washington University study released last month that found nearly 3,000 people died in Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year. From September 2017 to February 2018, 2,975 people died, according to that study, which was commissioned by Puerto Rico's government.

Lawmakers accused Trump of politicizing the Puerto Rican deaths, and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz took to Twitter herself to blast Trump.

“This is what denial following neglect looks like: Mr Pres in the real world people died on your watch. YOUR LACK OF RESPECT IS APPALLING!” she said in one post.

Yulín Cruz, who has sparred with Trump on Twitter and on CNN and the BBC, fired off more tweets condemning Trump’s false statement that 3,000 people did not die following Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.

“Mr President no matter how much you try your “true colors” come shining thru. Unfortunately you just can’t help it. You just can’t get it,” she wrote. “Mr Trump you can try and bully us with your tweets BUT WE KNOW OUR LIVES MATTER. You will never take away our self respect. Shame on you!”

Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for governor in Florida, expressed outrage over Trump's tweet. 

 

 “No death is partisan and our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico deserved better from @realDonaldTrump before, during, and after the hurricane.”

The House Democratic Caucus tweeted that Trump "won't acknowledge the thousands of Americans who died on his watch," and added: "Even worse, Republicans have no interest in holding this administration accountable and ensuring that Congress is prepared to respond to these disasters."</s>President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for the "really large number" of deaths reported in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria last year, saying that "3000 people did not die," despite a government-funded study finding similar numbers.

Trump said in a tweet on Thursday morning that when he visited the island following the hurricane last year, the death count was much lower.

"3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico," he said. "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…"

He then added: "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!"

A woman tries to walks out from her house after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria in Salinas, Puerto Rico on September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Trump visited the island and evaluated relief efforts after Hurricane Maria hit the island. His visit came after local officials in Puerto Rico, including San Juan Mayor Carmin Yulín Cruz, argued he was not doing enough to help.

The initial official death toll recorded that 64 people were killed as a result of the hurricane, but reports of many more deaths than that poured in the months after the hurricane. A government-funded study later found the number to be much higher.

The study commissioned by the Puerto Rico government released in late August found that 2,975 people had died in the wake of the storm. It found that Hurricane Maria was the second deadliest storm in US history.

A separate study published in August found that 1,139 people died in hurricane-related deaths, and the authors called that estimate "conservative."

In a tweet responding to Trump's claims on Thursday, Yulín Cruz hit back.

"This is what denial following neglect looks like: Mr Pres in the real world people died on your watch," she said. "YOUR LACK OF RESPECT IS APPALLING!"

Earlier this week, Trump faced criticism after boasting about his administration's efforts in Puerto Rico, saying they were "incredibly successful."

"It was one of the best jobs that's ever been done with respect to what this is all about," he said.

His comments came as Hurricane Florence approached the east coast. The storm was downgraded from a category 4 to a category 2 on Thursday, but forecasters are still predicting devastating flooding across the Carolinas from storm surge and heavy rains.</s>Donald Trump has rejected the widely accepted death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria and claimed without citing evidence that “3,000 people did not die”.

Mr Trump called the death toll a move by Democrats to make him look bad.

The US president tweeted on Thursday as Hurricane Florence bears down on the Carolinas.

He said: “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…”

Puerto Rico’s governor raised the US territory’s official death toll from Hurricane Maria from 64 to 2,975 after an independent study found the number of people who died in the aftermath had been severely under-counted.

Maria devastated the island in September 2017 and knocked out the entire electricity grid.

Researchers from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University said the original estimates were so low because doctors on the island had not been trained to properly classify deaths after a natural disaster.

The elderly and impoverished were hardest hit by the hurricane.</s>WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected the widely accepted conclusion that nearly 3,000 died in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, arguing without evidence that the number was wrong and calling it a plot by Democrats to make him look bad.

As Hurricane Florence approached the Carolinas, Trump tweeted Thursday a fresh fight over the administration’s response in Puerto Rico, tweeting: “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.”

Trump added: “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.”

Puerto Rico’s governor last month raised the U.S. territory’s official death toll from Hurricane Maria from 64 to 2,975 after an independent study found that the number of people who succumbed in the sweltering aftermath had been severely undercounted.

The estimate of nearly 3,000 dead in the six months after Maria devastated the island in September 2017 and knocked out the entire electrical grid was made by researchers with the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. The study says the original estimates were so low because doctors on the island had not been trained to properly classify deaths after a natural disaster.

The elderly and impoverished were hardest hit by the hurricane.</s>President Donald Trump washed his hands of any responsibility for the nearly 3,000 deaths caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last fall, even blaming Democrats for manipulating the figures to make him look bad.

In two tweets this morning, with Hurricane Florence barreling toward the eastern coast, Trump not only disputed the revised death toll of 2,975 confirmed by a government study, but suggested that everything on the island was just fine when he visited immediately after the storm.

“3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico,” Trump tweeted (see tweets below). “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…”

A second tweet continued: “…..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!”

Actress Mia Farrow was one of the first to twitter-respond to Trump’s reality-shirking tweets: “Your inept response to the catastrophe in Puerto Rico caused the deaths of nearly 3000 American men, women and children. You dismissed the gravity of their predicament and utterly failed in your responsibility as president. This is a stain you must bear for the rest of your life.”

CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted that Trump is “Apparently of the belief that the death toll is about him and not about approximately 3,000 dead American citizens.”

Earlier this week, Trump called his government’s response to the historic Puerto Rican disaster an “unsung success.”
U.S. President Donald Trump denies that 3,000 people died in the 2017 hurricane, advancing a number of "6 to 18 deaths", and further makes the false assertion that the Democrats inflated the former number.