Site icon JONATHAN TURLEY

Trump Versus George Washington: GW Stands By Mortality Findings From Puerto Rico

jonathanturley

George Washington University has found itself in the eye of the storm over Hurricane Maria after President Donald Trump has lashed out at its findings that roughly 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico rather than a couple dozen cited by President Trump.  Trump has called the widely cited GW study “inflated” but the university (where I teach) is standing by its findings. Top Republicans have distanced themselves from Trump’s remarks and leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan went public to say that there is no reason to doubt the GW findings. Even Trump supporter Florida Gov. Rick Scott who is running for the Senate tweeted “I disagree with @POTUS—

 

Trump is arguing that the GW simply counted anyone who died during this period as a hurricane death: “3,000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3,000.”

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000…

He added: “This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!”
The study was actually done by George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.  It was commissioned by Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, who was previously praised by Trump.
 In its report last month GW estimated there were 2,975 excess deaths in Puerto Rico from September 2017 through February 2018 stemming from last year’s hurricane.

GW focused on “excess deaths” by comparing the number of deaths during the designated period with past mortality patterns. They found that the total number of deaths was 22% higher than the baseline and extrapolated from that figure.  It found that doctors often did not link deaths to the hurricane despite listing the causes as cardiac arrest, respiratory failure and septicemia.

Trump has directed much of his anger at San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.  Trump has previously complained about the failure of Cruz and local officials in dealing with the storm, including the lack of adequate infrastructure and preparation before the storm.  There may indeed be merit to the criticism, particularly in Cruz spending most of her time critiquing the federal offense rather than her own government’s performance.  However, that is entirely separate from the methodology and merits of the GW study which has been widely credited as reliable and credible.
Exit mobile version