Trump Brags About Puerto Rico Response While Talking About Florence Threat

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Trump acts like he’s listening as FEMA Administrator Brock Long, center, talks about Hurricane Florence in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018, with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, right. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

With a powerful hurricane bearing down on the southeast coast, Trump, the king of narcissists, turned attention back to the federal government’s response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico a year ago, deeming it “incredibly successful” even though a recent federal report found that nearly 3,000 people died.

The administration’s efforts in Puerto Rico received widespread criticism. But

“I actually think it was one of the best jobs that’s ever been done with respect to what this is all about…”

…Trump said Tuesday of the response in Puerto Rico, suggesting that it was made more difficult by the “island nature” of the storm site.

The president praised the response to the series of storms that battered the United States last year, saying “I think Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success. Texas we’ve been given A-pluses for. Florida we’ve been given A-pluses for.”

After visiting Puerto Rico last September, Trump said that Puerto Ricans were fortunate that the storm did not yield a catastrophe akin to the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast.

All told, about 1,800 people died in that 2005 storm. Puerto Rico’s governor last month raised the US territory’s official death toll from Hurricane Maria from 64 to 2,975. The storm is also estimated to have caused $100 billion in damage.

While defending the handling of the previous storms, Trump on Tuesday urged caution in regards to the new one bearing down on North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

“The safety of American people is my absolute highest priority…”

…Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“We are sparing no expense. We are totally prepared. We are ready. We are ready as anybody has ever been.”

I’m glad I’m not in the path of this hurricane, for any number of reasons, but one of them is Trump is president, so there’s no telling what kind of federal relief will be available.

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Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.

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