Donald Trump is spreading conspiracies about Puerto Rico on Twitter now

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The first waves of Hurricane Florence are beginning to make landfall as I write this. North Carolina and South Carolina are going to be devastated by wind damage, storm surge and more than two feet of rain being dumped on them in a matter of days. The hurricane will stall out into a tropical depression and slowly make its way up to Virginia, West Virginia, possibly even Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania, where it will likely cause more mass flooding, power outages, and wind damage all within the next week. You would think that Donald Trump would be focused on that. You would be wrong. He’s too busy blatantly lying about how many deaths he caused with inaction and stupidity in Puerto Rico:

This morning’s tweets came after Trump repeatedly lied for days about his slow response to the hurricane in Puerto Rico last year. He’s been saying, over and over, that he gives himself an “A-plus” for how he handled everything, like when he picked a fight with the mayor of San Juan, or the time he threw paper towels at survivors. No one can even say for sure that Trump truly understands that Puerto Ricans are Americans, and that Puerto Rico is an American territory.

If you’re interested in know how the “nearly 3000 deaths” number came about, CNN had a good piece on how the numbers changed. Expect the same thing for Hurricane Florence: the casualty numbers will change, just as the estimates of how much damage there is will change too, because it’s an ongoing thing and not everyone wants to take a bloody survey as they’re escaping a massive natural disaster. And Trump will deny those numbers too.

And Maggie Haberman has a scoop:

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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86 Responses to “Donald Trump is spreading conspiracies about Puerto Rico on Twitter now”

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  1. Who ARE These People? says:

    I can’t tell with Maggie Haberman. Is it supposed to somehow humanize and/or exonerate him if he “really believes” all his lies? Or is she inadvertently underscoring that he has lost touch with reality?

    Good luck to everyone in the storm’s path. Please – get out, and if you aren’t under evacuation orders, stay high and dry. Always better to over-prepare than to under-prepare…but Celebitchies are smart and know that.

    • NightOwl says:

      I don’t trust her. She seems to have a direct line to Trump and spins quite a bit on Twitter. Drags down the other reporting at the NYTimes.

      • Lightpurple says:

        Members of her family have worked for the Kushners and Trumps for decades. She hangs out with Princess Nagini

      • Becks1 says:

        I don’t trust her either. I feel like she has given up her credibility for “access.” I think she does have a direct line to Trump or Kelly or the like, and I think she reports just enough on the negatives to keep herself “honest,” but then also always tries humanize him.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        She does have a direct line, due to her mother’s working for the PR firm that has handled the Kushners. She does not appear to do any original reporting but rather seems to be on speed dial for Trump and shares his “feelings” and “beliefs” – when the rest of the people of the world suffer because of his deeds, and the deeds of his administration and political party. Reporters should report on deeds. I agree that she’s a hack.

    • Natalie S says:

      Bob Woodward also covered this in his book that Trump seems unable to engage with the truth and rages when confronted with it.

      I watched Woodward’s interview with Stephen Colbert and Woodward’s book ends with Trump’s lawyer Dowd role-playing as Mueller with Trump and Trump goes ballistic and starts yelling and lying. Dowd told Trump, “Mr President, either you do things my way or you’re going to be fitted for an orange jumpsuit. You can’t testify. You are disabled. You can’t testify because you can’t tell the truth. You just make things up.”

      I don’t know if Haberman has sympathy for Trump though she’s definitely Trump friendly to keep her access. But it is a weird thing that Trump doubles down on his lies to the point that people are not sure whether he understands what is real and what he made up and I think she’s just another person pointing that out.

    • Indiana Joanna says:

      Maggie’s first tweet was that staffers must be punching their pillows. I found her tweet offensive. Joking about drump’s doubling down on his cruel lies that hide the devastation and suffering. But Maggie seems intent on minimizing his monstrousness.

      Also drump claims on Twitter to have raised billions for PR after Maria. All his tweets as president are archived. He is a repulsive monster on par with Putin.

      • Lightpurple says:

        The tweets on his name account are no longer archived. I retweet the worst ones to the POTUS account because it still is

      • C-Shell says:

        Honest to God, LP, you do God’s work. I am in awe.

      • Nancy says:

        Lightpurple is the best. She doesn’t just say it, she does it. Not only in politics, in any cause she supports. We need more just like her. ❤

      • Indiana Joanna says:

        LP, Agree with comments. You are on top of this and wealth of knowledge. But really, his personal tweets are no longer archived? This is unbelievable.

      • pottymouth pup says:

        a lot of people are just getting the info from his tweets from @unfollowTrump so the actual # of followers and retweets is lower (which drives him nuts)

    • Lilly says:

      Thanks all. I never would have know Maggie’s background. Someone has probably said below, with better eloquence, how hateful this is to family and friends in grief and trauma. That’s why I know he doesn’t believe what he’s conspiriorizing, he hates poc and is gleeful in his hate. #thanksPresidentMiller

  2. Tootsie McJingle says:

    Can we not post pictures of his face anymore? Seriously raises my blood pressure every time I see it. Maybe just an orange with a terrible wig? It’s about the same.

    • Christin says:

      The baby blimp is the only image I can handle. It actually makes me smile. The designers nailed that one.

      • A reader says:

        I love what pajiba does. They replace him with pictures of the lovely Kate beckinsale. I humbly suggest that celebitchy starts replacing his picture with the trump baby balloon 🙂

      • Jerusha says:

        I rather enjoy seeing his face turn into the portrait hidden in Dorian Gray’s attic. Everyday brings the Grim Reaper closer.

    • hogtowngooner says:

      If you’re using Chome as your browser, there’s an extension called “Make America Kittens Again” that replaces any picture of Trump with adorable kitties. It helps a little!

  3. teehee says:

    OMg this guy keeps managing to get stupider.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      He was always stupid, but his sanity should be called into question by the press far more than it is. Is it so hard to think the system failed and allowed a crazy/damaged man to take power? It’s not like it’s the first time in history.

      • Christin says:

        Subscription$ and rating$.

      • isabelle says:

        This is how he brainwashed his cult/followers. It is a trick used for thousand of years to sow disinformation so his followers don’t abandon him and instead worship him. He isn’t stupid he is dangerous.

  4. Rapunzel says:

    He is blatantly trying to rewrite history. We must stop this.

    • Nancy says:

      Whenever he makes inaccurate statements, there are legions of people who prove him wrong. He doesn’t care. This is a narcissistic personality (sociopath) who finds himself incapable of being wrong, and if called out as wrong, will simply blame someone else, generally the media. I watched the news half an hr ago, and the reporter in PR was livid over his number of fatalities. She went into detail how the fatalities included people unable, due to damage from the storm, get to hospitals, get medicine. She made him, per usual, sound like a clueless buffoon. You have to realize, he does not believe Puerto Ricans are Americans. This is not an intelligent man. The victims of Maria are doubly cursed, since he won’t even acknowledge their existence. I loathe him. I hope Florence dies in her tracks. These horrendous storms are being brewed through global warming, which trump dismisses. Living for the day he and Pence are gone.

  5. Esmom says:

    Holy f$^&ing hell. He needs to STFU. He sounds like one of my preschoolers making excuses. Except less articulate. How hard is it to acknowledge that it’s an ongoing tragedy and they’re working to rebuild? He cannot, cannot ever let any perceived slights go. He is such garbage.

    Also, “Island.”

    To those facing Florence’s wrath, please be safe!

    • Kitten says:

      This is the definition of insanity. This is why the 25th Amendment was created. This man is spiraling into a deeper pit of delusion every day. He’s unhinged and completely unstable. I sound like a broken record but I still cannot fathom how he has any supporters. He is an increasing danger to our country. Unreal.

      • isabelle says:

        Wouldn’t be surprised if he has worm tongue (probably that di*k called Stephen Miller) telling him to do this and what to say, filling his head with the lies. He also has a very long history of pulling a con where he only tells a bit of truth and then exaggerates. He basically spelled that out in “the Art of the Deal”, he isn’t right in the head but look at his past, he has done this for many years. Its now we get to see his narcissism and manipulative tactics in a very public square. This same man according to his ex wife that kept Mein Kompf by his bedside.

      • Kitten says:

        Definitely, isabelle. My first thought when I read his tweets this morning was: Stephen Miller. I think Miller is the one that tells Trump what to say in order to manipulate his base. Blame the Dems, basically. And that’s not to say that Trump isn’t tweeting most of this sh*t on his own volition, but knowing how out of touch he is with the people who support him, I have no doubt that he has someone helping him toss the red meat to his base. Trump doesn’t have the ability to empathize or to get into the head of another person–he only cares about Trump–so undoubtedly he’s not doing all of this on his own.

      • Nic919 says:

        This is why the GOP need to be decimated and tossed in the ashbin of history. It’s obvious that the 25th should be applied at this point but they are all such craven cowards.

  6. Beth says:

    Someone needs to explain to Donnie that these 3000 people didn’t all die during the hurricane, they died as a result of the damage caused by the storm. These innocent American citizens died because they had no electricity, medicine, food, clean water, etc, which made them victims of the government not being prepared

    • Jan90067 says:

      And all that FEMA bottled water is STILL sitting on a tarmac, untouched. Shameful!

    • boredblond says:

      Evidently it doesn’t matter if someone explains things to him or tries to present rational facts..he can only comprehend bizarre right wing conspiracy theories and is enabled by every repub vote.

    • Kitten says:

      He will just blame the mayor of PR. That’s what he’s done since day 1: blamed the victims.

  7. Kelly says:

    He’s also been talking about how prepared his administration is as reports come out that money has been diverted from FEMA and the coast guard to pay for his baby concentration camps.

  8. Jessica says:

    I can’t with him. I’m so beyond words exasperated & knowing his followers will believe him is far from what I ever thought was humanly possible.

    • Kitten says:

      THIS. It blows my mind. We are in such dangerous territory as a country.

      Also, I hope all C/B friends in the path of Hurricane Florence stay safe. It’s going to be a bad one but even worse is going to be the aftermath and the inevitability that 45 won’t be able to sufficiently help the victims.

      • jwoolman says:

        We can only hope that FEMA has enough sane staff left who have learned the previous lessons and will do an end run around President Tweeter.

  9. Jan90067 says:

    I’ve started reading “Fear”, the Woodward book, and I honestly can’t read more than a chapter or two at a time. It’s chilling. The mere fact that THIS ALL REALLY HAPPENED…😱! And it is STILL happening. The chronicled further mental breakdown of this buffoon that is at the very apex of our government, the lies, omg, the lies!!!

    Please stay safe, CBers in the storm areas… (selfishly, we need all of your blue votes in November!!)

    And I second the motion to just put an orange up instead of a pic. It has the same color and pitted skin, but perhaps it won’t instill the same vomitous feelings as the real thing.

    • Giddy says:

      Same here. I have to put Woodward’s book down and go do something else because it is so horrifying. I usually read quickly, but this one is going to take awhile.

  10. Penguen says:

    So INCREDIBLY inappropriate, ESPECIALLY right now.

    Be safe, everyone.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      Speaking of incredibly inappropriate, how ’bout his getting pumped while walking to the Pennsylvania memorial on 9/11?

      If his cabinet weren’t so filled with swamp monsters, they would know it is time to remove him from office.

      Which is more cynical, thinking the Republicans will dump him once they get Kavanaugh, or thinking they’ll hold onto him to postpone the
      inevitable breakdown of their miserable party?

      • The Other Katherine says:

        Thinking that they will hold onto him in order to postpone party breakdown is the more cynical take. And it is EXACTLY what they’ll do. They know their party base will splinter and that many will abandon the party altogether if their orange idol is cast down from his pedestal.

  11. Swack says:

    Always someone else’s fault. And fake news y’all (/s)! Drives me nuts when someone cannot accept the blame for what has happened. And have you read that Brock Long, an administrator for FEMA, is under investigation for misuse of government resources.

    Stay safe everyone! I know I have friends in SC and have friends that have family there. Prayers and good karma being sent your way.

    • Kitten says:

      “And have you read that Brock Long, an administrator for FEMA, is under investigation for misuse of government resources.”

      Seriously, Swack?? Why the f*ck am I surprised, though. Every single person associated with this presidency is dirty and corrupt AF. Every damn one of them.

      • Swack says:

        Story on Politico. They all think that they are allowed to use gov’t resources, taxpayer funded, to do whatever they want.

  12. Christin says:

    Gaslighting and diversion.

    The Carolinas are in trouble, no doubt. I’m amazed that some people along the coast are choosing to ride it out. Property can be replaced, but lives cannot.

    • isabelle says:

      100% and people almost 2 years later think he “insane”. He isn’t right in the head but he knows exactly what he is doing for the most part. You know how abused people feel like they are crazy and try to explain the abusers persona away by believing they are crazy? He is a classic abuser.

  13. OriginalLala says:

    Put up a picture of a moldy Cheeto instead of his face pls. He makes me nauseated!

  14. Juls says:

    I am shaking with rage right now. No, Donald, you don’t love Puerto Rico. You only love you. You hate them because you are a racist, fascist pig. The peop!e of Puerto Rico are amazing, kind, hard-working people. I know this personally, from experience. PR should have been granted statehood already. But the neo-nazis won’t do it because they hate POC and they don’t want to be bothered with adding a star to the flag that they worship more than Jesus and is more important than human life, equality, and dignity. Rant over.

  15. Veronica S. says:

    Highlighting all the reason why it’s important for independent studies to exist that question government statistics.

    • Trashaddict says:

      Speaking of which, are the unemployment figures to be believed? I know that government officials can get creative by how they measure that (example not counting people who have given up looking for work). Have any news agencies looked into the accuracy of recent economic measures?

  16. Lightpurple says:

    He doesn’t think they’re citizens or that Puerto Rico is US territory. He tweets about RAISING money like it’s a charity cause. His base doesn’t they’re citizens either. Spent the day arguing with several of them on Twitter yesterday.

    • Christin says:

      And they were broke or something. That’s what he was rattling about the other day.

      I commend those of you who try to introduce facts and reason to the brainwashed. It has to exhausting.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      Lightpurple I want your energy. Commendations to you.

    • HeatherBoBeather says:

      Bless you lightpurple. I live in Alabama, the trumpiest of all places. It’s exhausting trying to argue against the ignorance, day after day. Luckily/sadly (?) my ten year old daughter is learning to hold her own in political debates.

  17. Eric says:

    Shut the f$#£ up Orange Swine!

  18. PodyPo says:

    Nobody, not Dems, nobody has to try to make Dump look bad. He does an A+ job of that all by himself. It’s the only job he does well.

  19. Librakitty says:

    I met a girl who lives in Puerto Rico. She said the suicide rates have sky rocketed due to the living conditions people are STILL facing. It’s sad, Trump is one of the grossest people to exist.

  20. Eric says:

    Ignore MAGA Haberman. She’s the toilet paper for the Orange Stain.

  21. Incredulous says:

    Oh great, now I get to hear how concerned various republicans are at his comments over the weekend. Very concerned, deeply concerned, supercalifragilisticexpiveryconcerned.

  22. why? says:

    The Dotard is so stupid. He isn’t the only one to blame. The press and governor of Puerto Rico also hold some responsibility.

    Why is the press acting surprised that GWU reported that the death toll is 2975 when in May, a study performed by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Heath estimated that the death toll was 4600? So the death toll is still being under reported. It also highlights the need for the press to follow up on stories. The only reason Puerto Rico is back in the news is because of the current hurricane and that is not right. Had the press stayed on Puerto Rico, would the Dotard and his administration been able to take money from FEMA’s rescue and recovery for Puerto Rico and give it to ICE so that they could build the detention centers?

    The governor of Puerto Rico holds blame because he kept telling the Dotard that he was doing a good job. The governor under reported the death toll(he told the Dotard during that press conference at the table that the death toll was 16) and only after the Dotard left Puerto Rico was when he reported that the death toll was 64(I thought that he told the Dotard that the death toll was 64 during that press conference). It was then raised to 1000s then to 2000s and then finally that report in May that said that it was 4600 by concerned groups, while the governor of Puerto Rico argued that the numbers weren’t actually that high.
    The Democrats aren’t to blame. Being complicity is.

    When did the Dotard raise billions of dollars for Puerto Rico to rebuild? Can you imagine what Sarah’s response to this question will be today? Will she make up another lie, berate the press for questioning the Dotard, blame Obama, or distract with Hillary’s emails?

    Can the press please stop listening to Maggie H? The Dotard does not believe what he wrote. The Dotard knows that he is a liar, he lies because he knows that there are no consequences for his lies.

    • Q T Hush says:

      @why?
      You are absolutely correct about “no consequence “. In the past it was usually a job the press/media would gladly handle. Why are the reporters of today so chickens&$t? I love that you remind us of this fact often. Thank you

  23. Karen says:

    A coworker of mine died of leptospirosis when dealing with debris near his home from hurricane María. And my cousin died of cancer at the hospital after the hurricane as well. Those deaths were not manufactured and were not counted in the initial toll.

    And of course Trump loves Puerto Rico! He left us holding the bag to the tune of $32 million for his golf course in Río Grande when it declared bankruptcy.

    To everyone in the path of hurricane Florence… Be safe.

    • Trashaddict says:

      I’m sorry Karen. The toll of hurricane Maria in PR extends to every person in the states who is stressed out about their relatives there. What happened to the government that helps its citizens?

  24. GoPlacidly says:

    Shouldn’t that read “Spreading conspiracy THEORIES”?

  25. why? says:

    The WH talking point for today(so far the Dotard and Paul Ryan have said this): Puerto Rico is an isolated island, surrounded by water, and that was why it was very difficult to help Puerto Rico.

    • Lightpurple says:

      I got that on Twitter last night. I pointed out that we own big boats and helicopters and have this thing called the military

      • jwoolman says:

        The US government has managed to actually invade islands before. No problem to send supplies and people to actually help.

        Trump doesn’t travel much, but doesn’t he know that the UK is an island?

  26. Liz version 700 says:

    It must be a relief for my family members in NC to know if they die the president will just call them fake news. I hate him. On Election Day I will walk through fire and crawl through broke glass to vote against anyone with an R after their name in his honor.

  27. Valerie says:

    Omg. F**k you, Donald.

  28. HeatherBoBeather says:

    He is a disgusting person. A terrible human being.

    Stay safe from the storm! I’ve tried in vain to get my parents to leave NC. They are inland, I am so worried about flooding and tornados.

  29. Digital Unicorn says:

    Something to cheer you all up – Senator Feinstein has just made a public statement about forwarding a sensitive and secret letter to the FBI about Kavanaugh and an incident involving a woman from years ago. Its either a MeToo moment or he paid her to have an abortion.

    Withdrawal announcement from him coming in 3,2……

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dianne-feinstein-brett-kavanaugh-document_us_5b9a90eee4b01151973bca90

  30. Rapunzel says:

    I hope he tries this revisionism with this hurricane. Maybe then, MAGAts will learn

  31. adastraperaspera says:

    He wants to crush Puerto Ricans so he can take over the island and redevelop it for real estate profits. I think his proposal for a golf course was rejected in the past, so he wants to retaliate. He is a sociopath. I cannot imagine what grief these words are causing people who lost loved ones. Unspeakable suffering.

  32. why? says:

    The governor of Puerto Rico must be trying to get a spot in the Dotard’s administration because he is still saying that the Dotard did a good job in Puerto Rico despite all of the evidence that contradicts him. I was appalled to see the guests of Chuck Todd praising the governor(he was being civil to the Dotard) and while slamming the mayor of San Juan who according to them was being hostile to the Dotard because she was more outspoken about how the Dotard failed Puerto Rico. The study was ordered by the governor of Puerto Rico, probably to dispute the study that was done by Harvard that estimated the death toll to be 4600. I suspect the the death toll is still being under reported. The governor gave his rounds of interviews acting offended by the Dotard questioning the GWU study, but then when given the opportunity to call the Dotard and his administration out for their lack of response, the governor offered him praise. The press needs to start holding the governor responsible too because his complicity and need to praise the Dotard is putting Puerto Rico in danger.

    In other news. When the press reported that Manafort was in talks with Mueller for a plea deal and that the deal fell apart because of Mueller, I suspected that the leaker was Rudy. I just didn’t know how Rudy would have gotten a hold of that information since Manafort and the Dotard weren’t in direct contact. Today Rudy leaked that Manafort and the Dotard have a deal where the lawyers share information about the trials and that Manafort is working out another plea deal with Mueller.

  33. JanetFerber says:

    When I first heard him talking about fake and storm, it dropped my jaw because I thought he was saying Hurricane Florence was fake and not real (which I wouldn’t put past him). Then, he’d be responsible for thousands of more deaths (in addition to the three thousand deaths in Puerto Rico).

  34. Jo says:

    Is he offering relief money as well as hopes and prayers to the victims of the hurricane? Or just the hope and prayer tweets?