President Trump’s recent assertion in a televised statement, as also noted in the Portland Press Herald on Sept. 12 (Page A5), was that the federal government’s response to Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico was an “incredible, unsung success.”

This is after the official death toll was recently revised from 64 to 2,975 and the storm damage was estimated at $100 billion. Disregarding the many pockets still without power, it is only recently that the electrical system has come anywhere near to being fully restored.

The East Coast was recently hammered by Hurricane Florence. As the significance of the disaster becomes apparent and the president makes an incredible, unsung appearance at a shelter or two, perhaps he will toss out a few rolls of paper towels to all those people who shouldn’t be standing around waiting for a government handout – they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get on with it. After all, that’s what he expected the people of Puerto Rico to do.

William O. Smith

Bailey Island


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