Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott, saying he witnessed the devastation firsthand in Puerto Rico, disagreed with President Donald Trump’s comments about the death toll on the island from Hurricane Maria.
Scott is running for the Senate against incumbent Bill Nelson, D-Fla. His comments about Puerto Rico came in a tweet posted on Thursday.
“I disagree with @POTUS– an independent study said thousands were lost and Gov. (Ricardo) Rosselló agreed,” Scott wrote. “I've been to Puerto Rico 7 times & saw devastation firsthand. The loss of any life is tragic; the extent of lives lost as a result of Maria is heart wrenching. I'll continue to help PR.”
Scott’s remarks follow Trump’s denial of Puerto Rico’s official death toll from Maria. The president claimed that Democrats had inflated the figures. According to a study conducted after the storm at the request of the government of Puerto Rico, an estimated 2,975 people died as a result of Maria in 2017.
Politico reported Scott has been looking to distance himself from Trump in a bid to win the Senate seat.
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