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When asked to assess the presidency of George W. Bush, most cite his response to Hurricane Katrina as a low point. Bush himself admitted he regrets some of the decisions made.
When assessing the presidency of Donald Trump, most cite his own errors in regard to Hurricane Maria and the recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. Scandals and missteps plagued the Trump administration in the wake of the deadly storm.
The awarding of the multimillion dollar electrical restoration contract to a company with no disaster experience that belonged to a friend of a cabinet member brought allegations of corruption and cronyism. The official death toll remains unresolved. And getting into Twitter feuds with both the Governor of Puerto Rico and the mayor of San Juan hurt the Trump administration's public image.
And who could forget the paper towels?
Trump tosses paper towel rolls into crowd of hurricane victims during Puerto Rico visit https://t.co/76SmM1I85H https://t.co/CnGIlcqZQU— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX 4 NEWS) 1507061809.0
But when asked what he learned after Hurricane Maria, President Donald Trump did not give his administration a passing mark. He gave efforts in Puerto Rico the label "one of the best jobs ever done."
Watch the interview question here.
People found the response surprising—given the issues in Puerto Rico almost a year after the hurricane hit—leading some to question, what "job" the President referred to in his answer.
@CBSNews What was the "job" he's referring to? Was the goal to let as many innocent people as possible die? If so,… https://t.co/fhxjNoDrnt— Winona Sioux (@Winona Sioux) 1536700959.0
@CBSNews My takeaway is that Trump does not care about brown Americans. Or poor Americans. I'm also pretty sure… https://t.co/sq20sUFeIS— NextTime On Survivor (@NextTime On Survivor) 1536698236.0
Others pointed out which issues the United States citizens in Puerto Rico still face.
@CBSNews Literally had to listen to this bc I can't fathom he actually said this - One of the best jobs ever done?… https://t.co/RoASBmNtoH— Barbara Cossman (@Barbara Cossman) 1536697254.0
@CBSNews Only someone as half-assed as @realDonaldTrump could possibly think the hurricane response for #PuertoRico… https://t.co/bEPW000aD0— Jason Ernst (@Jason Ernst) 1536696665.0
@CBSNews As a Puerto Rican I defer from this Orange Specimen's assessment. We still have people without Electricity… https://t.co/51vtZzpVQv— Tai Pelli (@Tai Pelli) 1536697780.0
@CBSNews What Puerto Rico is he talking about? A year later and they are still recovering. He thinks leaving hund… https://t.co/nEuc3dZ4JT— Sherry Sherry (@Sherry Sherry) 1536696483.0
@CBSNews https://t.co/ihMTGMCYpY— 24TEE.COM 🔥 (@24TEE.COM 🔥) 1536695253.0
Others saw it as ominous news for anyone in Florence's path as the following reactions show.
The question asked about lessons learned. After any event, some lessons should be gleaned from the after action briefing.
@CBSNews ...so what he is said basically is, "no lessons were learned." #Resist @realDonaldTrump #UnFit #theResistance @FEMA #PuertoRico— Xindy D! 🌊💙🍄 (@Xindy D! 🌊💙🍄) 1536695502.0
@CBSNews If that’s the case, the Carolinas and Virginia are screwed— Notorious BID 🏳️🌈 (@Notorious BID 🏳️🌈) 1536697235.0
@CBSNews Well, that pretty much assures that the people in Florence's path are SCREWED! They're FUKCED!— CatMom (@CatMom) 1536697488.0
@CBSNews The East Coast is screwed! I'm going to run to Walmart and pick up water, food, and clothes, because these… https://t.co/hy1xYMIuVX— TMKyzer (@TMKyzer) 1536696638.0
While some noted Trump's response to a question about Hurricane Florence.
@CBSNews A person who seems to have no concept of or relation to reality is in fact the President of the United Sta… https://t.co/GRGoHbydNG— Brad Connolly (@Brad Connolly) 1536695534.0
@BradJConnolly @CBSNews ‘Alotta water!’ ‘tremendous water’ ‘22 inches!’ But the topper was that he claims our assis… https://t.co/ZxDS4U9Fei— Meg Bennett (@Meg Bennett) 1536696707.0
A few even cited potential health problems if the President's honest review of events led him to call the Trump administration response to Hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico one of the best ever.
@CBSNews He really is delusional— Morag M Levin (@Morag M Levin) 1536695688.0
@CBSNews You see this is why his lawyers know not to let him talk to the prosecutor because this man can't answer q… https://t.co/GRcbkMIOvX— Tuscana (@Tuscana) 1536695456.0
@ddchills @CBSNews Each day I'm more and more convinced he has Dementia. He's compensating all the time, hoping fol… https://t.co/hvtLyGQKpW— G A Morgan (@G A Morgan) 1536697430.0
@CBSNews Trump answered that question like a 1940's used car salesman named "Honest Don"— Sheldon Crow (@Sheldon Crow) 1536695879.0
However most respondents simply expressed shock.
@CBSNews https://t.co/MmpDDLFuT0— 𝐿𝒶𝓊𝓇𝑒𝓃 𝒫𝒶𝓈𝒸𝓊𝒸𝒸𝒾 (@𝐿𝒶𝓊𝓇𝑒𝓃 𝒫𝒶𝓈𝒸𝓊𝒸𝒸𝒾) 1536695952.0
@CBSNews I’m sorry WHAT IN THE HOLY DUCK DID YOU JUST SAY!?? And by the way I never used the word “duck” 🦆 🤔— G-Rod (@G-Rod) 1536696090.0
The latest information on all active tropical storms and hurricanes can be found at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Hurricane Center website. Hurricane Florence currently threatens the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic and was rated a Category 4 storm as of 5:00pm AST.