Trump outdid himself today. While Hurricane Florence is bearing down on the Carolinas, Trump took the time to revisit the results of Hurricane Maria, which devastated PR almost exactly one year ago.
Specifically, he rejected the results of an independent scientific study that found there were 2.975 deaths in Puerto Rico directly attributable to the aftermath of the hurricane, claiming that it was a Democratic plot to undermine his efforts to personally raise "billions of dollars" to rebuild Puerto Rico.
He offered no evidence of any of that. Once again. he is creating his own reality. The study was done by George Washington University and commissioned by the Puerto Rican government - it was not politically motivated, and was not done by the Democrats. There is also no evidence that Trump was personally raising money to rebuild PR. Trump claimed that there were less than 20 deaths when he visited the island a couple of days later.
The reality is that, in the months following the hurricane, almost 3000 people died because of the conditions created by the hurricane - lack of electricity, potable water, food, and access to emergency services. That's what the independent study showed; another study from Harvard showed a higher death count, but the study from GWU is considered to be more accurate because it took into account those who had left the island after the storm as well as those who were known to have died from natural causes.
The basic problem here is that Trump is incapable of admitting that he did something wrong - ever. If it goes well, even if he didn't cause it to happen, he takes credit; if it goes badly, he finds someone else to blame. He's always been that way, and at 71-years old, there's no reason to believe he will ever change. His insistence on revisiting the past is disturbing at times. He won't let go of his Electoral College win (which was anything but the landslide he claims it to be), he won't let go of Hillary, and now he's focused on what did or did not happen a year ago when he should be laser-focused on the immediate danger to North and South Carolina today.
This is your hero, Trumpsters - a petty, self-involved narcissist who only sees world events as far as they involve him personally. I hope you're all proud. |
