Donald Trump Calls His Response To Hurricane Maria In Puerto Rico An ‘Incredible Unsung Success’

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump lauded his administration’s response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico an “incredible unsung success,” despite the fact that nearly 3,000 people died.

The president’s comments came as he obtained a briefing on Hurricane Florence, the storm ravaging many Mid-Atlantic states like Virginia and the Carolinas and that led to a Trump rally in Missouri being cancelled. Trump bemoaned the fact that his administration had been so heavily criticized for its slow response to the storm in Puerto Rico.

“I think Puerto Rico was incredibly successful,” Trump said, noting that the U.S. territory was difficult to get relief aid to because of the fact that it is an island. “It was one of the best jobs that’s ever been done with respect to what this is all about.”

Trump — and several of his administration officials — were slammed for many actions they took after Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017. The president himself was seen throwing paper towel rolls at storm survivors, and later said the disaster had not been as severe as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 because the death toll was lower. Trump also said the island’s infrastructure — and especially its electric power grids — was weak and added that Puerto Rico had been in severe financial debt before the hurricane.

Puerto Rican government officials like San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz also blasted Trump for calling the U.S. Government’s response a “success,” pointing out how many people were ignored on the island.

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The New York Times also reported on Wednesday that new documents show the Department of Homeland Security diverted around $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), specifically to pay for migrant detention centers and other border security measures.

Many lawmakers have also called for an investigation into the Trump administration’s response to Maria in the wake of recent reports that showed the death toll of the hurricane was revised from an initial 64 to almost 3,000 people.

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Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his state would assist more than 1,000 displaced Puerto Ricans file a lawsuit against Trump and his administration over their response to the storm.

Regarding Hurricane Florence, Trump told reporters this week he felt completely prepared to deal with the Category 4 storm, which he called “tremendously big and tremendously wet.”