Ryan Contradicts Trump: ‘I Have No Reason To Dispute’ Maria Death Toll

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House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) contradicted President Donald Trump on Thursday, saying that he has “no reason to dispute” the death toll from Hurricane Maria.

“I have no reason to dispute these numbers. I was in Puerto Rico after the hurricane. It was devastating,” Ryan said during a press conference. “This was a horrible storm. I toured the entire island. It’s an isolated island that lost its infrastructure and power for a long time. You couldn’t get to people for a long time on the island because roads were washed out, power was gone and the casualties mounted for a long time.”

Ryan did not place any blame on the federal government for the high death toll, however.

“This is a devastating storm that hit an isolated island,” he said. “And that’s really no one’s fault. It’s just what happened.”

Earlier on Thursday, Trump claimed falsely that the death toll from Hurricane Maria, 2,975, was falsely inflated by Democrats trying to make him look bad.

Watch part of Ryan’s comments below:

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