You can’t predict the weather, but you can predict the politics that accompany major weather events. Good leaders respond quickly to disasters because it’s a humanitarian thing and a job. But the cold truth is that helping Americans in need is also a great campaign opportunity. Expressing salvation in the public arena is a winning strategy. Regardless of the party, optics are important.
But when efforts to increase the number of votes include the suppression of life-saving information and emergency relief, it is clear that American politics has reached an ironic peak.
Just as climate change is causing destructive storms with catastrophic frequency, the Republican Party’s far-right shift is ushering in a different kind of relentlessly destructive deluge: disaster misinformation. .
Hurricane Helen, the second deadliest hurricane to hit the continental United States in the past half century after Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast of northern Florida last week, devastating the southeast as far as Virginia. brought. More than 225 people have been killed, reported property damage is in the billions of dollars, and millions have been evacuated or are still without power.
As the Biden administration, various government agencies, and interested citizens of all political persuasions come together to help the victims of the disaster, former President Trump used Herren as an opportunity to sow chaos in the lead-up to the November election. I considered it.
President Trump falsely claimed that there were “no helicopters or rescuers” in North Carolina to help those injured or stranded in the Category 4 storm. He lied when he said President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris stole $1 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house “illegal immigrants.”
He intentionally misled people in need by falsely claiming that the federal government was only giving out $750 to people who lost their homes. The slurry of misinformation represents the latest wave of complete BS propagated by the MAGAverse.
“(The misinformation) is the worst I’ve ever seen,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters Tuesday.
In a separate interview with CNN, he said the former president’s claims that government agencies lack field personnel in the states hardest hit by Hurricane Helen were “completely false” and that the federal government He said appropriate recovery support was available for victims of the disaster. .
Ms Criswell said she was concerned that false claims could prevent people from receiving the support they need and are entitled to after a catastrophe. And this emergency is not over yet.
Another major storm is predicted to make landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday. Milton developed in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, strengthening from a tropical storm to one of the most powerful hurricanes on record in a short period of time, producing winds reaching 290 miles per hour. According to the National Hurricane Center, it is currently a Category 5 storm and could cause a storm surge of up to 15 feet.
Biden urged residents of vulnerable areas such as Tampa Bay, Florida, to evacuate. But will they track politically motivated attacks against the government and respond to Helen? Undermining public confidence in state and federal authorities could prove as dangerous as high winds in dire circumstances.
Criswell predicted Milton would be a “historic” storm. To combat the simultaneous barrage of lies, FEMA has dedicated valuable resources to combating falsehoods by enhancing the Rumor Response page on its website.
Trump is not the only one making false accusations, nor is his outrage the most insane. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told a story worthy of Austin Power’s Dr. Evil. She suggested that the White House may have used weather control technology to steer Helen to areas with large numbers of Republican voters. What is their evil purpose? Thanks to their heroism in swooping in to save the day, grateful survivors voted for leader Kamala Harris.
Trump’s claims that Biden is refusing to help people in Republican-leaning areas are less than half as creative. He said Biden would not support or respond to calls from governors in hard-hit red states. But the same governors asked for different opinions. “We deeply appreciate the swift response,” said Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. “(Biden) just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?'” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a phone call with the president. And I said to him, “I have what I need.” We will proceed through the federal process. “If you need anything else, please call me directly,” he said. ”
There is no evidence that Mr. Biden has withheld aid or relief from Republican-leaning states, but recent reports suggest that Mr. Trump did exactly the same thing to blue states in 2018.
Politico’s E&E News recently published a report revealing that President Trump initially refused to approve disaster aid to California after a series of deadly wildfires due to the state’s Democratic leanings. did. A former Trump aide said the then-president was only persuaded to support the state’s disaster relief efforts after learning that there were more Republican voters in Orange County than in all of Iowa.
The Biden administration’s response to Helen was one of the largest mobilizations of personnel and resources in recent history. Thousands of National Guard troops and emergency responders assisted and are continuing to assist in search and rescue efforts. Food, water and millions of dollars in direct funding are pouring into the region, where the death toll has surpassed 230 and continues to rise.
There is a difference between a political disaster (such as a poor debate performance) and the politics of disaster. Trump is taking advantage of the latter, and it’s dangerous.
