{"slug":"trump-puerto-rico-paper-towels-maria-response","title":"Puerto Rico Paper Towels: Trump's Response to 3,000 Deaths — Trophy Moment","date":"2017-10-03","lastUpdated":"2018-08-28","description":"On October 3, 2017, nine days after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm, Trump visited the island and threw paper towels into a crowd of hurricane survivors at a church. He later praised his administration's response as an 'incredible, unsung success,' compared it favorably to 'a real catastrophe like Katrina,' and denied that nearly 3,000 people had died. The official Puerto Rico death toll was eventually revised to 2,975; Trump disputed the number as fabricated by Democrats to make him look bad.","summary":"Trump visited Puerto Rico nine days after a storm that killed nearly 3,000 people and left the island without power for months — the longest blackout in U.S. history. His visit featured a trophy-style photo op where he tossed paper towels to survivors. He told them their death toll compared favorably to 'a real disaster like Katrina.' Months later, as the official death toll was revised upward toward 3,000, Trump claimed the number was fabricated. Puerto Rico remained without power for 11 months in some areas — the longest blackout in U.S. territory history. FEMA's response was widely criticized as inadequate.","category":"foreign-policy","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/us/trump-puerto-rico-visit.html","title":"Trump in Puerto Rico Holds 'Incredible' Aid Response as 'Unsung Success'","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-throws-paper-towels-into-crowd-in-puerto-rico/2017/10/03/d4f1e9f4-a848-11e7-b3aa-c0e2e1d41e38_story.html","title":"Trump throws paper towels into crowd in Puerto Rico","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/us/politics/trump-tweet-puerto-rico-hurricane-maria.html","title":"Trump Denies 3,000 Deaths From Puerto Rico Hurricane Were Real","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.gmu.edu/news/2018-08/independent-study-confirms-nearly-3000-deaths-puerto-rico-due-hurricane-maria","title":"Independent study confirms nearly 3,000 deaths from Hurricane Maria","publisher":"George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Puerto-Rico","Hurricane-Maria","paper-towels","first-term","disaster-response","deaths"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-09-20","title":"Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico","summary":"Maria strikes Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds, destroying the power grid, communications infrastructure, and causing catastrophic flooding. 3.3 million U.S. citizens are affected."},{"date":"2017-10-03","title":"Trump visits Puerto Rico — paper towel throwing","summary":"Trump arrives in Puerto Rico nine days after landfall. At a church relief distribution site, he throws paper towels and other supplies into the crowd. He tells survivors that Maria was 'not a real catastrophe like Katrina' and praises his administration's response."},{"date":"2018-08-28","title":"GWU study: 2,975 deaths attributable to Maria","summary":"George Washington University publishes an independent study commissioned by the Puerto Rico government finding 2,975 excess deaths attributable to Maria and its aftermath from September 2017 through May 2018."},{"date":"2018-08-29","title":"Trump denies death toll on Twitter","summary":"Trump tweets that the 3,000 death figure was 'made up by Democrats' to make him look bad. He calls it 'fake news.' The Puerto Rican government had commissioned the study from a credentialed university; the death toll had been certified by the island's government."},{"date":"2019-01-14","title":"Trump blocks $8 billion in disaster relief","summary":"Trump blocks the release of $8 billion in congressionally approved disaster relief funds for Puerto Rico, citing 'corruption' in the island's government. Puerto Rican officials and members of Congress from both parties condemn the decision."}],"location":{"name":"San Juan, Puerto Rico","lat":18.4655,"lng":-66.1057},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"2,975 Puerto Ricans killed by Hurricane Maria and its aftermath; 3.3 million U.S. citizens without power for months; island communities without clean water, medical care, and basic infrastructure","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; oversaw inadequate federal response; denied death toll; conducted paper towel photo op","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2019-01-14","summary":"Updated with blocked disaster relief."}]}}