This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Donald Trump on Tuesday touted the “incredible, unsung success” of the federal response last year in Puerto Rico, where the government estimates nearly 3,000 died as a result of Hurricane Maria.

Trump says government is 'absolutely, totally prepared' for Hurricane Florence Read more

The president’s remarks drew swift condemnation from the island and the mainland as Trump sought to assure the public that his administration was as “ready as anybody has ever been” for the powerful 500-mile wide Hurricane Florence swirling toward the Carolina coast.

“This is an offensive, hurtful and blatantly false comment from the president,” Senate minority leader Charles Schumer tweeted on Tuesday. “Nearly 3,000 of our fellow citizens died in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. That is the complete opposite of ‘success’.”

Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan and a fierce critic of Trump, said his comments added “insult to injury”.

She told CNN: “This is a stain on his presidency. He says he’s done a good job when 3,000 people have died? God bless us all if this man continues on this path.”

Bernie Sanders added:“Nearly 3,000 people died. That is not a success. That is a tragedy and a disgrace.”

Trump spoke from the Oval Office, where he was receiving a briefing on efforts to prepare for Florence by Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) head Brock Long.

Play Video 1:38 'We're as ready as anyone has ever been' ahead of Hurricane Florence, says Trump – video

Asked on Tuesday what lessons his administration learned from responding to storms in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico last year, Trump boasted that he deserved top marks.

“I think Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success,” he said. “Texas, we had been given A-plusses for. Florida, we’ve been given A-plusses for. I think, in a certain way, the best job we did was Puerto Rico but nobody would understand that.”

The administration’s efforts in Puerto Rico were widely criticized as slow and insufficient. During a visit to the island last September, Trump tossed paper towels into a crowd and told Puerto Rican officials that they should be proud the damage did not compare to the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which he described as a “real catastrophe”.

As many as 1,800 deaths are attributed to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans. Last month, nearly one year after Maria struck Puerto Rico, the island’s government raised the official death toll to 2,975 people – a dramatic increase on the previous official figure of 64.

“Puerto Rico was, actually, our toughest one of all because it’s an island– you can’t truck things onto it. Everything is by boat,” Trump said. “We moved a hospital into PuertoRico – a tremendous military hospital in the form of a ship.”

He continued: “I think Puerto Rico was incredibly successful.”