NY Democrat Ocasio-Cortez slams Trump tweet, says grandfather was 'uncounted' Maria victim
WASHINGTON – Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reminded President Donald Trump that her grandfather died after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico after the president rejected an official study that said the story killed nearly 3,000 people.Â
“My own grandfather died in the aftermath of the storm. Uncounted,” said the democratic socialist running to represent New York’s 14th District in a tweet Thursday. “Thousands of Puerto Ricans have similar stories. They have lost children, friends, family members.”Â
She sent the tweet after Trump sparked outrage by asserting without evidence that “3,000 people did not die” from the storm and that Democrats inflated the number “to make me look as bad as possible.”Â
My own grandfather died in the aftermath of the storm. Uncounted.
Thousands of Puerto Ricans have similar stories. They have lost children, friends, family members.
Instead of finger-pointing, INVEST in the Marshall Plan for Puerto Rico + just transition to renewable energy. https://t.co/ncukYyJsRu
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) September 13, 2018
In November 2017, Ocasio-Cortez said her grandfather died in Puerto Rico after Maria hit on Sept. 20.Â
“The US government will not recognize the lives lost,” she lamented in a tweet announcing his death.Â
My grandfather died in PR along with over 900 others. The US government will not recognize the lives lost.
Today the island had 18% power generation. And now the US government thinks its work is done.
Tell them this is far from over. We need justice for #PuertoRico. https://t.co/33jnqzM3Go
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 9, 2017
A study by George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, which was commissioned by the Puerto Rican government, found that September 2017 to February 2018, 2,975 people were killed by Maria and the damage that the storm inflicted on the island’s infrastructure.
Before the study was published in August, the official Puerto Rican death toll from Maria was only 64. In his tweets, Trump cited the large increase as a reason for his suspicion.Â
Carlos Santos-Burgoa, who led the George Washington University study, said the researchers stood by the results and that their work underwent rigorous peer review.Â
More: How Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria death toll of 3,000 was calculated
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