President Donald Trump on Friday evening continued to push his lie that the Hurricane Maria death toll of 3000 was made up to make him look bad.
Trump claimed on Twitter the estimation went from 64 people: “Then, like magic, ‘3000 PEOPLE KILLED.'”
“FIFTY TIMES LAST ORIGINAL NUMBER – NO WAY!” He tweeted.
….GWU Research to tell them how many people had died in Puerto Rico (how would they not know this?). This method was never done with previous hurricanes because other jurisdictions know how many people were killed. FIFTY TIMES LAST ORIGINAL NUMBER – NO WAY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2018
“When Trump visited the island territory last October, OFFICIALS told him in a briefing 16 PEOPLE had died from Maria.” The Washington Post. This was long AFTER the hurricane took place. Over many months it went to 64 PEOPLE. Then, like magic, “3000 PEOPLE KILLED.” They hired….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2018
Puerto Rico governor Ricardo Rossello pushed back on Trump’s claims, telling him he’d “very much be willing to walk you through the scientific process of the study.”
“There is no reason to underscore the tragedy we have suffered in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria,” he added.
Mr. President—
I’d very much be willing to walk you through the scientific process of the study and how @Gwtweets arrived at the excess mortality number estimate. There is no reason to underscore the tragedy we have suffered in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. 1/2 https://t.co/HGENQOu6fQ
— Ricardo Rossello (@ricardorossello) September 15, 2018
Trump’s been on the defensive for days about the government’s response to the hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, going as far as accusing Democrats of inflating the number for political gain.
He has zero evidence for his claims, and the George Washington University researchers who found the death toll stand by their report.
