EDITORIAL: Hurricane Florence and Trump’s tweets really have us worried

Our thoughts our with our fellow Americans in the Carolinas as potentially catastrophic Hurricane Florence bears down on the coast.

The damage from the climate-change-enhanced storm could be devastating, and it will be the obligation of all Americans — and our federal government — to race to the rescue as necessary. If ever there were a proper role for the government, this is it.

That said, it is beyond offensive for President Donald Trump to claim that his administration did a great job helping Puerto Rico recover from the overwhelming devastation of Hurricane Maria in September 2017.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed — a death toll approaching that of 9/11.

Thousands of residents were left without electricity for months.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency contracted out for vital supplies that were appallingly slow to reach the island.

Yet Trump on Twitter on Monday bragged about his response to Maria. It was, he said, “an incredible, unsung success.”

Fantasies often do go unsung.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration diverted $9.8 million from FEMA at the beginning of the current hurricane season — to help pay for more immigration detention centers.

We are, at this point, speechless.

And we’re praying for the safety of everyone in Florence’s path.

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