Trump Calls Research Behind Maria Deaths ‘Magic’ in Fresh Attack

President again contests Puerto Rico death count in tweets
Territory commissioned study finding 2,975 deaths in storm

Destroyed homes sit surrounded by debris from Hurricane Maria in this aerial photograph taken above La Perla in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017.Photographer: Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg

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By Justin Sink

September 15, 2018 at 3:04 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

President Donald Trump again lashed out about the almost 3,000 deaths attributed to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year, questioning the science behind the count even as Hurricane Florence pummeled the Carolina coasts.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Puerto Rico’s official death toll from Maria, which the territorial government dramatically increased to 2,975 in August after commissioning a study by George Washington University.