June 1, 2018

Trump Is Still Bragging About the Government’s Handling of a Hurricane That Killed More Than 4,600 Americans

Chris Kleponis/ZUMA

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President Donald Trump has yet to comment on a devastating new study published by Harvard researchers this week estimating that 4,645 people died in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria—more than 72 times what the Trump administration has officially acknowledged. The new death toll marks what may be the country’s deadliest natural disaster in 100 years.

But while Trump remains silent on the study, he’s still bragging about the government’s response. 

“Last season during the hurricanes—I was in Texas, I was in Florida, I was in Puerto Rico—I saw the work you did under the most adverse conditions,” Trump said at the change-of-command ceremony for the US Coast Guard on Friday. “I’ve said this to a lot of people: I don’t think any brand has gained more momentum or has gained more of anything than the brand of the United States Coast Guard.”

As my colleague Tim Murphy noted earlier this week, during the hurricane and its aftermath, Trump vacillated between blaming Puerto Rico for an “impossible situation” and demanding that the media shower praise on his emergency response efforts.

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At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

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So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

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