Florida Republicans were quick to disagree with President Trump’s comments and tweets about the Hurricane Maria death toll in Puerto Rico.
The president renewed a spat with Puerto Rican officials on Wednesday when he praised his administration’s response to the disaster.
“I think in a certain way the best job we’ve done is Puerto Rico,” said Trump.
“I think that Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success,” he added later.
According to an independent study, an estimated 2,975 people in Puerto Rico died in the storm or as a direct result of it in the months after it hit.
The study was commissioned by Puerto Rican government officials and released in July by George Washington University.
The president doubled down on his comments Thursday morning in a pair of tweets, saying “3,000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico” and that “this was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible.”
3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000…— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018
…..This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018
Several prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, disagreed with the president in a rare public rebuke.
Two Florida Republicans who want those crucial Puerto Rican votes to help them get elected in November also rejected the president’s claim.
Gov. Rick Scott, in a head-to-head battle against incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson for his Senate seat, said he disagreed with POTUS and has seen the devastation first-hand.
I disagree with @POTUS– an independent study said thousands were lost and Gov. Rosselló agreed. I’ve been to Puerto Rico 7 times & saw devastation firsthand. The loss of any life is tragic; the extent of lives lost as a result of Maria is heart wrenching. I’ll continue to help PR— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) September 13, 2018
Rep. Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for governor, also reportedly rejected the president’s claim, telling Orlando ABC-affiliate WFTV that “he doesn’t believe any loss of life has been inflated.”
.@RonDeSantisFL camp responds to @realDonaldTrump claim this morning that the 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria is an inflated number pic.twitter.com/iU1sj6W5cm— Christopher Heath (@CHeathWFTV) September 13, 2018
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) also refuted Trump’s claim, tweeting that “these days even tragedy becomes political.”
These days even tragedy becomes political. 3k more Americans died in #PuertoRico after Hurricane than during comparable periods before. Both Fed & local gov made mistakes. We all need to stop the blame game & focus on recovery, helping those still hurting & fixing the mistakes. https://t.co/NQRKWbWEdh— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 13, 2018
Watch Politics On Your Side with host Evan Donovan every Sunday morning on WFLA News Channel 8 at 9:30, right before Meet the Press.
