Despite having numerous resources at his disposal to provide reliable information during natural disasters, former President Donald Trump has been known for his frequent spread of misinformation in such situations. Over the course of his presidency, Trump’s inaccurate statements have ranged from misidentifying the nature of natural disasters to making incorrect assertions about the government’s disaster response efforts.
Arguably it was Hurricane Maria in 2017, a disaster leading to significant loss of life in Puerto Rico, when Trump’s penchant for spreading misinformation came to the forefront. The president was criticized for his lack of immediate response but more importantly, he faced backlash for the blatant underestimation of the actual death toll. While independent studies suggested that nearly 3,000 people lost their lives due to the hurricane, Trump claimed these figures to be grossly inflated and suggested the real count to be in the dozens.
A year later, as California battled wildfires that resulted in 85 deaths and massive land destruction, Trump took to social media to spread inaccurate information about forest management. Ignoring the analysis of experts regarding the influence of climate change on the increasing intensity of these fires, Trump suggested that the main cause of wildfires was poor forest management, adding that Finland, for example, had fewer forest fires because they raked their forest floors regularly – a claim quickly denied by the Finnish President.
In 2019, during Hurricane Dorian, Trump’s agency with misleading information took an absurd turn when he incorrectly stated that Alabama would be hit much harder by the storm than anticipated. When experts from the National Weather Service corrected this information, the situation escalated into what is now known as Sharpiegate. Trump displayed a doctored weather map that was apparently altered with a sharpie to show the storm’s path extending into Alabama, which fueled considerable controversy and undermined public faith in accurate disaster information.
Trump’s dissemination of wrong information during natural disasters wasn’t just limited to domestic situations. Even during the Australian bushfires in 2020, he inaccurately stated that the fires were due to a lack of raking leaves, mirroring his earlier misinformed comment about the California wildfires. This claim was flatly contradicted by Australian fire experts who attributed the devastating fires to prolonged drought and extreme weather due to climate change.
Overall, the spread of misinformation by Trump during natural disasters has been worrisome. Accurate information during these times is essential for public safety and resource allocation. Rather than relying on expert advice and input, Trump’s assertions often seemed to be based on
