As Florence Turns Deadly, Trump Tweets Geraldo On Puerto Rico Toll
Geraldo Rivera attends an event at The Paley Center for Media in New York City. Image by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
By Dave Goldiner September 15, 2018
Hurricane Florence lashed the Carolinas on Friday, killing at least 5 as it roared ashore — and officials warned the worst could be yet to come.
Yet President Trump remained fixated on why he is widely blamed for the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year.
Trump approvingly quoted Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera’s Tweet saying the botched response was not entirely Trump’s fault on Friday night.
pisses me off watching commentators blaming @POTUS for 3000 hurricane related deaths in #PuertoRico these folks Never wrote or reported anything about PR. There is total ignorance or avoidance of fact power grid was in chaos Power Authority bankrupt & corrupt before #Maria hit.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) September 11, 2018
Trump claims the official death toll of about 3,000 from Maria was inflated to embarrass him. Apparently taking time out from leading the response to Florence, the president Tweeted five separate times about Maria.
“They say all these people died in the storm in Puerto Rico, yet 70% of the power was out before the storm. So when did people start dying? At what point do you recognize that what they are doing is a political agenda couched in the nice language of journalism?” @GeraldoRivera
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2018
Trump insists his response to Maria was an “unsung success” and has spent a good portion of the past few days branding the official death toll fake news and arguing that few died from the storm in Puerto Rico.
Rivera, who claims Puerto Rican as well as Jewish heritage, also suggested that the answer to Puerto Rico’s woes would be statehood, and the power of senators and members of Congress. Trump didn’t comment on that suggestion, which would almost certainly boost Democratic numbers.
What #PuertoRico needs is equality-Statehood-2 Senators-3 or 4 congressfolk-an end to its status as a Step Child in the family of nations
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) September 11, 2018
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward Campus encampments return one year later, and pro-Palestinian protests spark 15 arrests
-
Fast Forward Israeli left-wing group suspended at University of Haifa after protesting the war in Gaza
-
Fast Forward Jordanian national in Florida sentenced to 6 years for targeting businesses he believed supported Israel
-
Fast Forward A ‘Golden Dome for America,’ inspired by Israel, is part of Trump’s 2026 budget request
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
- 2
News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
- 3
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
- 4
Culture Cardinals are Catholic not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Campus encampments return one year later, and pro-Palestinian protests spark 15 arrests
-
Fast Forward Israeli left-wing group suspended at University of Haifa after protesting the war in Gaza
-
Fast Forward Jordanian national in Florida sentenced to 6 years for targeting businesses he believed supported Israel
-
Fast Forward A ‘Golden Dome for America,’ inspired by Israel, is part of Trump’s 2026 budget request
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.