President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he anticipates that Hurricane Florence will be one of the worst storms in decades and said everybody should "get out" if they are in the path of the storm.

The president also defended his administration's response last year to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria on the island of Puerto Rico, calling it "incredibly successful."

"Puerto Rico was actually our toughest one of all, because it's an island, so you can't truck things onto it, everything's by boat," Trump told reporters. "It was one of the best jobs that's ever been done."

Nearly 3,000 people are believed to have died on Puerto Rico as a result of the damage caused by Maria. Trump also noted on Tuesday that Puerto Rico is potentially in the path of another upcoming storm, Hurricane Isaac.

Speaking of the government's preparations for Florence, Trump said his administration is "sparing no expense. We are ready. We are as ready as anyone as ever been." He added: "This is going to be a very large one ... It's tremendously big and tremendously wet. Tremendous amounts of water."