President Trump’s response (or lack thereof)
was actually much, MUCH worse!

Revisionist Historians for World Peace

DISCLAIMER: The Revisionist Historians for World Peace (RHWP) is a non-partisan group of historians who have no political affiliation.  We are academics and researchers who only seek the truth.  This qualitative assessment is a brief overview of the aftermath of Maria in Puerto Rico.  It represents what we believe to be a grave problem for President Trump.  None of the RHWP writers and editors involved in this project are registered to vote in the United States.

The storm lifted the roof of this supermarket leaving it a mass of twisted metal and damaged goods

It’s quite true that President Trump’s response to the devastation of Puerto Rico by first, Hurricane Jose, and then, Hurricane Maria, demonstrated a high degree of politically motivated negligence and willful incompetence.

This chapter of his presidency will leave an indelible stain on his legacy that may exceed any other.

The historical facts about the death toll and property destruction in Puerto Rico are both shocking and overwhelming.  This fact is still being corroborated — by the week — on the ground.

Even though a recent study came out which pegged the number of storm-related deaths at just under 3000 people, the real toll is quite likely well over 5000 Puerto Ricans.  There are several reasons for the miscalculation of that number. Hurricane Maria Caused 2,975 Deaths In Puerto Rico, Independent Study Estimates

Anyone who has surveyed the pervasive and profound destruction of the island can easily see that many more were killed than were counted.  The state always has a greater interest to deliberately misrepresent the death toll because mass death reflects a gross failure by the government.*

*It must be noted that folks are still dying on the island because of the continued lack of response.

In the case of Puerto Rico, the “state” variously refers to the U.S. Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the municipal government of San Juan.  All three of these entities had a vested interest to low-ball the number of deaths immediately following Maria’s departure.

Puerto Rico neighborhood ravaged by Hurricane Maria – REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

President Trump’s “Maria problem”

The real problem here is that the POTUS played politics instead of acting quickly for an island population in extreme distress.

Because the mayor of San Juan was a Democrat, Trump chose to use the mega-storm as a means to show Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz who was boss.  And he did so at the great expense of many innocent people.  Many residents unnecessarily suffered physically due to the gross ineptitude and intentional neglect of the US government.

Rather than send an armada of aid ships to the rescue, the Trump administration instead dumped the aid in places that could not be effectively used as staging areas.  That’s why we all heard so much about rotting product.  Puerto Rico’s transportation infrastructure had been destroyed, which the White House was well aware of.  Therefore, the administration should have taken the next logical steps which they instead shunned.

Because the US Navy is so busy fighting unprovoked wars of naked aggression around the world, the flag officers surely prevailed in the deliberate decision NOT to come to the aid of an entire island in a really desperate predicament.

Herein lies the real reason for Trump’s woeful reaction to the plight of Puerto Rico post Maria.  The US military and other substantial sources of assistance were not to be used to help the islanders.  Exactly why this was the case can only be conjectured, but the true reason ought to be quite obvious given the post-2016 election climate throughout the USA.

There are other explanations for Trump’s stunning failure in Puerto Rico that are well beyond the scope of this short analysis.  Nonetheless, when considered in the aggregate, it’s clear that he purposefully shirked the most basic responsibility of his high office. This appalling episode of his term is very SAD indeed!

Other Republicans responded to the dire needs

Not only did other Republican leaders in Florida respond to the needs of Puerto Rico, they have strongly refuted Trump’s take on the death toll. Florida Republicans Scott, Rubio, DeSantis dispute Trump on Puerto Rico deaths

The Republican nominee for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has emphasized that he “doesn’t believe any loss of life has been inflated” after the latest number increase was published. Florida’s GOP candidate for governor wants nothing to do with Trump’s Puerto Rico conspiracy 

A rising number of GOP leaders have come out and agreed with the upwardly revised death toll.  They also agree that, although radically higher than initial estimates, the number is much more accurate.  Of course, several Democrats have made the same claim. Florida officials respond to Trump’s claim, without evidence, that Puerto Rico deaths are made up

Flooding and wind from Hurricane Maria caused widespread damage in Puerto Rico. Credit: Hector

Final points

The POTUS should never play politics with the lives of the people.

Everything points to the fact that this is what Trump did.  And, that he has no regrets about his blunder.

Should the Democrats make the Puerto Rico debacle a central issue for the midterm elections, Trump will come to seriously regret his mistakes.

Of all the failures that have occurred since his Inauguration Day, this lapse in judgment is perhaps the most damaging of his presidency.

Because everyone seems to know folks who live in Puerto Rico, it’s only a matter of time before the true horror story gets out.  And when it does, Trump will be tagged as a far worse offender than W. Bush was in New Orleans.  And that’s bad!