Puerto Ricans in Florida 'feel let down' by President Trump's death toll denial

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Outside the popular Puerto Rican restaurant Melao Bakery in Kissimmee on Thursday, volunteers with the Hispanic Federation held clip boards asking customers in Spanish if they were registered to vote. 

The nonpartisan, nonprofit has been helping Puerto Ricans both on the island and in Central Florida after Hurricane Maria last year. Betsy Franceschini, Hispanic Federation senior director of Florida programs and policy, said Puerto Ricans have power in their vote, and right now many feel let down after  President Donald Trump's tweets denying the death count estimate of nearly 3,000 from Hurricane Maria.

On Thursday, the president tweeted:

"3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3,000... 

.....This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!" 

Franceschini said to the Puerto Ricans, those tweets are pouring salt into a wound that's still healing almost a year after the hurricane devastated the U.S. territory.

"Next week is the anniversary of Hurricane Maria and hearing this and seeing these tweets is like a slap in the face," Franceschini said. "It's heartbreaking to have the president of the united states express himself this yea, it's outrages, it's unacceptable because lives are the most valuable."

[STORY: Officials react to President Trump denying Puerto Rico deaths]

The president is denouncing the 3,000 death toll, which Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosello has accepted. Earlier this month, Rosello formally raised the death toll from Hurricane Maria to an estimated 2,975 from 64 following a study conducted by researchers at The George Washington University.

Puerto Ricans in Kissimmee on Thursday said they felt let down.

"I feel like it's kind of disrespectful, like condescending, like he thinks of Puerto Ricans less than Americans," said John Zaloum.

"He never took the time to go talk to the people, he was too busy throwing paper towels over there, he never went and spoke to anybody. What? He was there 20 minutes," said Elizabeth Mazzella. "So, he doesn't know what's going on."

"We all feel let down from our president," added Manuel Pellon, who was born in Puerto Rico and says he served in Vietnam.

Pellon voted for Trump and held back tears describing how he felt about Trump's words. 

"That's my homeland. I was born there and those are my people because they are Americans, too. we are all American and we need to be treated right," Pellon said.