Plan B Forum

Despite massive death toll, Trump calls Puerto Rico hurricane response 'an incredible, unsung success'

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump touted his administration's response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico as "an incredible, unsung success" during an Oval Office briefing on the upcoming hurricane bearing down on the Carolinas.

His comments run counter to how many locals and experts have assessed the federal government's response.
"I think Puerto Rico was incredibly successful," Trump said, noting that the island location is "tough" during a hurricane due to the inability to transport vital equipment and supplies by truck. "It was one of the best jobs that's ever been done with respect to what this is all about."

Earlier this month, the island's governor formally raised the death toll from the 2017 storm to an estimated 2,975 from 64 following a study conducted by researchers at George Washington University. The study accounted for Puerto Ricans who succumbed to the stifling heat and other aftereffects of the storm and had not been previously counted in official figures. Much of the US territory was without power for weeks.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, who has been a vocal critic of the administration's handling of the storm, has cast blame on the federal government for failing to provide adequate assistance in the aftermath of the storm, and slammed Trump's assertion Tuesday.

"In a humanitarian crisis, you should not be grading yourself. You should not be just having a parade of self-accolades.[what a radical idea]You should never be content with everything we did. I'm not content with everything I did, I should have done more. We should all have done more," Cruz told CNN's Anderson Cooper later Tuesday evening.

She continued, "But the President continues to refuse to acknowledge his responsibility, and the problem is that if he didn't acknowledge it in Puerto Rico, God bless the people of South Carolina and the people of North Carolina."

wesw wrote: intellectual dishonesty

Fatalities: (directly or indirectly)
- Alabama: 2
- Florida: 14
- Georgia: 2
- Louisiana: 1,577
- Mississippi: 238
- Total: 1,833

if the toll were calculated in the same way as port rico, it wold likely have been over one hundres thousand.

bullshit

your intellectual dishonesty knows no bounds.

3000 people died in Katrina right away, if the toll were calculated in the same way as port rico, it wold likely have been over one hundres thousand.

FEMA director gets name of Hurricane Florence WRONG in emergency briefing while denying car abuse

FEMA chief Brock Long botched the name of the hurricane threatening the East Coast Thursday while denying allegations of his own misuse of government cars – saying he was '100 per cent' focused on the storm.

'Regardless of an article, right now I'm 100% focused on Floyd, and that's exactly where our attention needs to be with the life-safety mission,' said Long at an emergency briefing to update Americans on Hurricane Florence.

'Florence, excuse me,' he added later.

Long may have been referencing a 1999 hurricane that slammed the East Coast and inundated parts of North Carolina.

He denied distraction at the top of a briefing where officials schooled Americans on what bare necessities they should bring to shelters, where and how to evacuate, and what disabled citizens should do to prepare.

He said as FEMA administrator he followed policies 'according to regulation and bottom line is we'll continue to fully cooperate with any investigation that goes on and own up to any mistakes and push forward and keep going, keeping moving on.'

'Regardless of an article, right now I'm 100 per cent focused on Floyd and that's exactly where our attention needs to be with the life safety mission. We'll invite in our federal partners – Florence, excuse me,' said, possibly after being corrected.

Asked if he was confident he followed the law, Long shifted the subject back to the storm and repeated the error. 'We're going to get to Floyd we're going to get to Florence, excuse me, and we're going to concentrate on the life safety issues,'he said.

The embarrassing gaffe came as Long fended off a new report that he was under investigation for the use of government cars.

The report said he clashed with Homeland Security chief Kirstjen Nielsen over the issue. An Inspector General is probing his use of a government Chevy Suburban and other vehicles during repeat six-hour drives to Hickory, N.C.

His use of a staff driver began last year, and aides would stay at hotels at government expense, an official told the publication.

News of Long's use of government vehicles for long-range commutes follows reports that $10 million was transferred from FEMA funds to pay for immigration detention centers. The transfer, revealed in documents released by Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, showed funds came out of the operations and support budget before the start of hurricane season.