Trump started the week by warning Americans who live in the Carolinas to take precautions against Hurricane Florence on Monday, September 10. The National Hurricane Center downgraded Hurricane Florence to a tropical storm by the time it made landfall on September 14, but it still caused major flooding and at least 11 deaths. As of Sunday, September 16, the storm has been downgraded further to a tropical depression, but is still pelting North and South Carolina with rain.
During an Oval Office briefing on September 11, 2018, about the coming storm, Trump used the US response to Hurricane Maria, which caused nearly 3,000 deaths and left huge swaths of the island in a state of disrepair that continues to this day, as a positive, reassuring example. Trump called it "an incredible, unsung success." Later in the week, Trump also disputed the accuracy of the death toll, claiming falsely that 3,000 "did not die" as a result of Hurricane Maria. White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley released a statement that clarified that "President Trump was responding to the liberal media and the San Juan Mayor who sadly, have tried to exploit the devastation by pushing out a constant stream of misinformation and false accusations." Still, it is difficult to argue with the numbers; a study by George Washington University has put the tally of deaths at 2,975, including deaths caused by oppressive heat and other aftereffects of the storm; this number has been corroborated by a number of sources.
Trump's characterization of the Hurricane Maria response also runs contrary to the UN, Puerto Ricans, and others who criticized the US response to Hurricane Maria as being inadequate and triggering a humanitarian crisis. As part of the media backlash to Trump's comments, an unflattering of Trump tossing paper towels to victims of Hurricane Maria has resurfaced, to Trump's apparent annoyance.
Meanwhile, Trump gave a somber moment of reflection on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the site where Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.
Trump signed an executive order punishing election interference and opening up the possibility of further sanctions against Russia. The EPA also advanced Trump's deregulatory agenda by rolling back laws regarding methane leaks and inspections.
Lastly, on Friday, September 14, in what may be a troubling sign for Trump, Paul Manafort pleaded guilty to committing several federal crimes and signaled that he will cooperate with the Mueller investigation. Trump - who recently praised Manafort as a "brave man" for not "flipping," or cooperating with Mueller - reacted by lashing out against Mueller via Twitter and again denouncing his investigation as a "Rigged Russian Witch Hunt."