President Donald Trump tried to defend his administration’s response to the hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico last year by lying about the death toll attributable to the storm.
“The Daily Show” was having none of it.
Trump on Thursday disputed findings that put the death toll from Hurricane Maria at close to 3,000. He also falsely said that Democrats were responsible for the figure “in order to make me look as bad as possible.”
It was an independent study by George Washington University that estimated the number of fatalities linked to the disaster at 2,975. And that figure is backed up by CNN’s reporting.
“The Daily Show” responded to Trump’s outrageous claims with a parody that plays off Nike’s new controversial ad featuring former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The lines “Believe in something. Unless that thing makes you look bad,” are superimposed over a photo of Trump in the spoof. At the bottom, next to Nike’s swoosh logo, is the line “Just deny it” (rather than the company’s signature slogan, “Just Do It”).
A raft of elected officials in Trump’s own party ― including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis) ― spent Thursday distancing themselves from the president’s comments. ”There is no reason to dispute these [higher] numbers” on the hurricane-related death toll, Ryan said at a Capitol Hill press conference..