Donald Trump, the current president of the United States, began his day not with updates on hurricane coverage or acting as a calm voice of reason for panicked Americans terrified they may face losing their homes, businesses, and even their lives, but by denying that 3,000 American lives were lost in Puerto Rico since those deaths make him look bad.
Democratic nominee for the House of Representatives, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, took that very personally, and she had a right to do so.
Trump’s assertions that only 6-18 people had died when he was there after the storm had already ended, so there were no other deaths afterward, is just more proof that he doesn’t comprehend more complex arguments. If a person died during a hurricane but roads to get to them and discover their bodies were impassable a few days after Trump’s visits, as the vast majority of roads were for many months in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, that death is the result of a hurricane but has not yet been counted when Trump was there.
If a person died in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria of a disease for which they were unable to receive medications to treat it, that death may be counted as a result of the hurricane. If a person died of a heart attack because EMTs were unable to reach them in time due to impassable roads or an influx of emergency calls to respond to, that person probably won’t be counted as the result of the hurricane, even though it clearly was.
Just a warning to everyone on the East Coast: if you or your family member dies during Hurricane Florence and that death makes the president look bad, he’ll deny it ever happened.
Twitter responded with outrage and condolences. See some of their comments below:
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
